The Bars League presents
52 Bars.
52 weeks.A year of celebrating neighborhood bars
Every week, The Bars League celebrates another local bar. Some are places we already know, some are bars we're visiting for the first time, and some have been sitting on our list waiting for a stop. Our roots are in Indiana, but great bars don't stop at state lines. Follow along as we celebrate the neighborhood bars, historic taverns and local watering holes that give their communities character, wherever the road takes us.
Week
02
LATEST VISIT
The Dugout Bar
Fletcher Place, Indy · Est. 1954
The year-long bar crawl
Indiana
Week 2 of 52
This week's stop.
Discover the stories, atmosphere and character behind every stop.
Week
02
Latest Visit
The Dugout Bar
Fletcher Place, Indy · Est. 1954
Founded in 1954 by Jack and Gwen Wagner, The Dugout Bar has been a Fletcher Place staple for generations. Originally known as Wagner's Dugout, it built a reputation around Jack Wagner's fast-pitch softball teams and its welcoming, no-frills neighborhood-bar character. Nick Baxter and Layton John purchased the bar in 2017, and a later expansion brought additional space and an outdoor patio while preserving its down-to-earth roots.
Neighborhood
Fletcher Place, Indianapolis
Serving since
1954
The vibe
Classic neighborhood bar
Don't miss
The vintage sign, mural patio, and laid-back atmosphere
Bars League feature
Not Yet Featured
The 52 Bars series
One year. 52 local bars.
This isn't a ranking and it isn't a list of Bars League featured partners. It's simply our way of celebrating the bars, taverns and neighborhood gathering places that are worth exploring.
Good to know
Bars appearing in 52 Bars. 52 Weeks. are not necessarily official Bars League monthly featured bars.
The journey is underway
Weeks
01–13
2 visited
01
Barringer's Tavern
South Village, Indianapolis
02
The Dugout Bar
Fletcher Place, Indianapolis
02
The Dugout Bar
Fletcher Place, Indianapolis
03
04
05
06
07
08
09
10
11
12
13
Weeks
14–26
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
Weeks
27–39
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
Weeks
40–52
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
The year-long bar crawl
Follow the journey.
A new local bar added every week.
Week 01
Not Yet Featured
Barringer's Tavern
South Village, Indy
Est. 1879
One of Indy's classic neighborhood taverns, still operating on the same property and at the same address.
Week 02
Not Yet Featured
The Dugout Bar
Fletcher Place, Indy
Est. 1954
A Fletcher Place neighborhood staple since 1954, with deep neighborhood roots and generations of Indianapolis bar history.
See the barJoin the League
Love local bars? So do we.
Every month, The Bars League features one local bar with an exclusive shirt created for that bar and available to League members.
One bar. One shirt. Every month.
Every week
52 Bars. 52 Weeks. We visit and celebrate neighborhood bars, historic taverns and local watering holes, with Indiana at the heart of the journey.
Every month
Bars League featured bar.One bar gets an exclusive shirt created for that bar and available to League members.
Nominate a bar
Where should we go next?
Know a great neighborhood bar, historic tavern or local watering hole we should add to the list? Send it our way.
Neighborhood bars
Historic taverns
Local watering holes
Good questions
About 52 Bars.
The short version of how the series works. More answers live on our FAQ page.
More from the League
Keep exploring the League.
Join the League
Discover this month's featured bar and shirt.
Meet the bars
See the bars officially featured by The Bars League.
Hall of Fame
Browse the gear and merch from featured bars.