Red Dogs has a long history in Wrightsville Beach, and the night spot is about to change things up once again. 

Jimmy’s at Red Dogs, owned by Jimmy Gilleece, is slated to open Friday. Occupying the first floor of the building at 5 N. Lumina Ave., the bar will be exactly that - a bar, not a nightclub, where Gilleece says patrons will enjoy live acoustic country, rock and blues on the weekends.

Charlie Maultsby has owned Red Dogs in Wrightsville Beach since 1975. After controversy caused the surf/skate hangout to close its doors in 1995, the building was purchased and renovated in 1996 by Reggie Barnes, owner of Eastern Skate & Supply Co. Maultsby then spent the next several years petitioning town officials to allow him to open a second floor bar. He eventually did, opening first in 2001 with just a beer license and obtaining a full liquor license in 2002. 

Since that time, the second floor has operated as a nightclub where Maultsby says he does the majority of his business between the hours of 11 p.m. and 2 a.m. He found that the downstairs bar was no longer open and knew that Gilleece, a longtime friend and Wilmington bartender, was interested in opening his own place.

The property will now be sub-leased by Maultsby and Gilleece from Barnes, and Gilleece is the sole owner of the new establishment. He chose to name it Jimmy’s at Red Dogs in honor of the bar’s history.

“The space needed a lot of work so we redid everything behind the bar,” Gilleece said.

The new bar is constructed partially from wood and has a tin roof from a barn in Charlotte, which gives it a rustic look, Gilleece said.

“Charlie has been a great help with the whole process,” he said. “He and his staff have actually been down here working, helping to get things done, and I’m really grateful.”

Both Maultsby and Gilleece are hoping to attract a different type of clientele to the bar than typically frequents the nightclub, therefore not competing with one another’s business.

“I’m really happy to have Jimmy here and to help him out however I can,” Maultsby said.

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