Berkeley Hoflund stood behind her bar’s counter for the last time Monday afternoon, ringing up the remainder of Stubbies & Steins’ merchandise.
The German-themed bar closed Saturday, parting ways with banners, T-shirts, glassware, beer, cuckoo clocks and bar stools at the sale this week.
About 200 people packed into the bar to buy the memorabilia and bet on auctioned items until about 9 p.m. Monday, including the outdoor Stubbies & Steins sign. Hoflund said it was harder to take down some of the pieces than it was to sell them.
“I sent a lot of great vibes to a lot of great people,” she said.
Hoflund opened the bar with her father in 2003 and said the sale’s turnout was a testament to how loyal her customers were.
“I’m willing to let things go and move on to a new chapter in my life,” she said.
Elena Mendenhall, 25, bought beer signs, T-shirts and beer trays at the sale, which her father collects. She’s been coming to Stubbies & Steins for about four years.
“I’ve had a lot of cool memories,” Mendenhall said. “It’s an awesome place for beer drinkers like me.”
Mendenhall, who graduated from UF in 2012, said she didn’t drink beer often until she started coming to Stubbies. She and her friends would gather around the long table in the middle of the bar each Wednesday to play cards over drinks.
“When I turned 21 and started going out, I went to this place and fell in love,” said Mendenhall, who received an “offender plaque” inscribed with the nickname “Princess.”
The personalized “offender plaques” were offered to customers who drank at least 100 different beers within one year and were placed on a map. The map is one of the pieces Hoflund said she didn’t want to part with.
Anne Morello, 24, purchased a liter beer glass, T-shirt and shot glasses. She bought the items for her boyfriend, whom she took to Stubbies after his trip to Germany’s Oktoberfest last year.
Morello, a UF construction graduate student, said Stubbies & Steins was the only bar she went to in Gainesville.
“I was sad when I heard they were closing because I just moved down the road and was looking forward to coming here,” she said.
Morello’s favorite item was the curry ketchup.
“The atmosphere was cool and unique,” Morello said. “Not a lot of bars in Gainesville have themes like this.”
[A version of this story ran on page 5 on 9/30/2014]
Customers search through glassware and memorabilia at the Stubbies & Steins closeout sale Monday. The pub, which opened in 2003, closed on Saturday, leaving bargoers sad but thankful.
