From the outside, the building at 554 E. Broadway in Alton doesn’t look like much. But follow your ears – and your nose – inside, where local bands keep Shakers rocking all night long. Married co-owners Paul and Lisa Light quietly opened their new bar on weekends in March, and they are now open for regular business Tuesday through Sunday.
The Lights have long been a fixture in the local music scene; Paul Light operated bar and music venue The Lighthouse in Alton for 15 years. The two decided to create a space where their passion for music and the arts would also provide a venue for Lisa Light’s daughter, chef Lauren Everhart Washburn, to showcase her culinary abilities.
Three performance spaces are spread through the two-story, 4,000-square-foot space. Two smaller stages frame the entrance, and customers can stroll to the back of the building where a new, much larger stage is nearly completed. Order a bottle of beer at the bar, then grab one of 80 seats downstairs and settle in for the night’s entertainment, or head up the large metal staircase to the bright, airy second floor and watch the sunset over the Mississippi River.
Washburn serves up a different kind of pub grub; deep-fried fare is eschewed in favor of made-to-order paninis, wraps and house-made flatbreads. Weekends see additional items like baked jalapenos stuffed with apple, cream cheese and bacon, as well as a rotating selection of stuffed mushrooms and fresh salsa and chips.
Shakers is open from Tuesday through Sunday from 4 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. Here, a first look at one of Alton’s newest nightspots:
Editor’s Note: This post originally located Shakers at 544 E. Broadway St. It has been updated to correct the error.
-photos by Michelle Volansky
This article appears in May 2015.