The Pop-Up Jingle Bar â Where Spirits Are Bright in Downtown Wheeling
Santa Claus will be there. So will Frosty and Rudolph, and maybe even a few elves will stop by the new âJingle Barâ in downtown Wheeling.
The new but temporary pop-up establishment will open during the first week of November on the corner of 10th and Main streets in the building once home to the legendary Billâs Hamburger. Itâs adjacent to the Wheeling Suspension Bridge, caddy corner from the Bridge Tavern & Grill, and just down the street from the Capitol Theatre.
And the windows of the storefront are covered now, but anyone walking by the building might hear pop-up bar owner Ken Sexton âHo-Ho-Hoingâ while he continues to decorate the Jingle Barâs interior.
âItâs a Christmas pop-up bar thatâs going to open during the first week of November and will be open during the entire Christmas season,â Sexton reported. âAnd then in January, weâll take it all down, and this corner will appear like it never existed. But when itâs open, youâll know weâre here for sure.
Ken Sexton is the owner and operator of Jingle Bar, and he's expecting a few very special guests to visit the establishment during the holiday season.
âThe plan is to do it again each year,â he said. âI think everyone knows this place because J. Jones (Bridal) was here, and several years ago, Billâs Hamburger was here for years. If this location gets filled again next year with a business, then weâll do what we can to move it to another building.â
For now, though, Sexton believes the location is ideal for the upcoming Christmas season.
âThereâs so much going on here with the Bridge Tavern, Newbridge across the street, the Capitol Theatre, and the Wheeling Suspension Bridge,â he said. âThereâs residential with the lofts in the Stone Center and the apartments in The Doris building, and thereâs parking in the area â especially during the evening hours.
âWe already have some special events that we scheduled and theyâve already sold out, so we know people are excited for this idea,â Sexton said. âThis is a concept thatâs taken place in places like Pittsburgh and other cities, so I thought it was time to bring it here to Wheeling because I believe it could be something that grows here.â
The Jingle Bar will serve several different food and drink items while it is open Wednesday through Sunday during the holiday season.
Cookies & Milk?
Along with thousands of twinkling lights and miles of decorative garlands, the Jingle Bar will feature the many tastes of the holiday season while welcoming patrons who simply wish to get hands-on with a number of Christmas traditions.
Want to make cookies? Wrap a present like your grandmother? Jingle all the glaze?
Wait? What?
âWeâll be open Tuesday through Sunday, and on Tuesdays, weâll be offering some kind of classes like gift wrapping, wreath making, and cookie making,â Sexton said with a broad smile. âWeâll even have a class that involves the glazed, ceramic Christmas trees that everyone grew up with when we were kids, and thatâs going to be a blast.
âAnd then Wednesday through Sunday, weâll be open like a regular bar, and weâre working on our menu because we wonât be cooking here,â he explained. âWeâll have a lot of different foods catered in, like meat and cheese trays, pepperoni rolls, and a lot of other items that our visitors will enjoy, and weâre having a few brunches, too, that will be catered.â
Sexton and his helpers have been busy with decorating the inside of 1001 Main Street, the former home of Bill's Hamburger in downtown Wheeling.
So, hereâs what we know. After he and his little helpers prepare for months, the real Santa Claus makes his way around the world within 24 hours every December. OK, but do we know how jolly ole St. Nick and his army of elves celebrate such an accomplishment?
Sexton has his ideas.
âWeâll have different beers, wines, and regular drinks, but weâve spent some time developing the specialty drinks for the holidays. Drinks like âThe Santaâs Helperâ, and the âSnowman Surpriseâ, and a few others,â Sexton said. âI know everyone is looking forward to our Christmas specialty drinks, and weâve worked with the state for our licensing, and theyâve been good to work with, too.
âThese kinds of pop-up bars are unique because there are no two that are alike,â he said. âAnd weâve been working hard on our decorations since we signed the lease because we want it to be as special as we think it can be.â
New holiday snowflakes will be placed on the light poles in downtown Wheeling, and the City of Wheeling, Wheeling Area Chamber of Commerce, Regional Economic Development Partnership (RED), Wheeling-Ohio County Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB), Wheeling Heritage, West Liberty Universityâs Department of Media and Liberal Arts, and the Parade Committee have joined forces to make this effort possible.
Welcome to âChristmas Cityâ
It was in 1985 when Oglebay first flipped the switch on the annual Festival of Lights, and that initiated an annual parade of hundreds of tour buses that meandered their motor coaches through miles of illuminated beauty.
At first, the roadways of downtown Wheeling were included on the tour map, but that traction dwindled through the years.
But again, Sexton has his ideas.
Oglebay's annual Festival of Lights began 41 years ago and has attracted millions of visitors to the Wheeling area.
ââWhy am I doing this?â is a great question to ask me, and itâs an easy question for me to answer because I believe Wheeling is poised to become a Christmas destination once again. If you think about it, we already have so much in place during the holiday season,â explained Sexton, a former local tour guide. âOglebayâs Festival of Lights is an event that this area has benefited from for decades, and itâs only getting bigger, so why not add to that?
âThe Highlands is certainly a great destination all year long but especially during the holidays, and the Capitol Theatre has so many great holiday shows this time of year. Plus, the Nutcracker Village is just up the road in Steubenville, and the streets of downtown Wheeling will be decorated again with brand new snowflake ornaments,â he said. âWe just all need to work together, and if that all happens, maybe we can add to it in the future so we can get back to having all of the motorcoaches rolling through this area during Christmas time.â
It's the glisten he still sees in his memories, so now Sexton wants to help bring back those âoohsâ and âahhsâ of the holiday season.
Sexton and his Christmas crew will be hosting special brunches and craft sessions so his patrons can learn from local experts.
âI just remember when Wheeling seemed like it was all lit up at Christmas, and I loved it. It was a special time of year, and I want to be a part of the effort that brings that back because people loved it,â he said. âI donât know why it all went away and I donât care. That doesnât matter now because I donât see a reason why we can bring it all back.
âPeople from the Wheeling area love Christmas time, and thousands of people come into the area to see what Oglebay offers because those folks do, too,â Sexton added. âItâs a special time here, and itâs going to be very special here at the Jingle Bar.â












