The Neighbors are ecstatic to have collaborated with Jon Owens in the form of an interview directed by Sophia Stopper, Co-founder. He is a bartender at Mike’s Tavern, bar and community space. The Tavern prides itself on their open-mic nights, where talented musicians come to entertain the attendees of the bar. When speaking on the environment of the space, Jon states, “This is a consistent place for local art and live music. Our friends have paintings on the walls. Our friends perform original live music every week. We take pride in showcasing the artistic contributions of our guests.” (J.O).
On why community is so important for the tavern, Jon expresses, “Supporting Mike’s looks like an open mic regular showing up at a friend’s Friday night gig. It looks like buying a six pack every now and then or bringing your cousin to the tavern when they visit from Delaware.” (J.O). Jon and his fellow staff members are cultivating a found family of sorts between the regulars at the bar. This is a warm and inviting atmosphere that’s purpose is to make you feel like you’re at home the moment you enter, a space of like-minded individuals full of kindness and love.
Something intrinsically important to Jon is trying to meet people where they’re at, especially the customers. He greets regulars by name, and seeks to build connections with those who are newcomers. Pete Cammarano, owner of the tavern, has been a long standing important member of the community of Reading, Pennsylvania. Jon expresses throughout his interview with Sophia Stopper, how important of a landmark the Tavern is, receiving critical acclaim and praise from locals and tourists alike. Check out the full Q&A below, and whether you’re in or out of the area, consider taking a trip, and enjoying some bumpin’ live music free of cover charge!
SS: Mike’s Tavern has long been described as more than just a bar—it’s a community space. How do you see relationships forming here, and what role do you think Mike’s plays in Reading’s cultural life?
JO: Mike’s is a gathering place for friends, families, neighbors, coworkers, artists and the public. It’s delightful to witness people be good to one another and I see it every shift. We’re blessed to have the support of friendly, kind guests. That easy-going kindness informs the way relationships form here. People become friends through conversation, through listening, through showing up to spend time together. The musicians who play here on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday nights are really supportive of each other, showing up for gigs or playing together at the open mic.
This is a consistent place for local art and live music. Our friends have paintings on the walls. Our friends perform original live music every week. We take pride in showcasing the artistic contributions of our guests. Mike’s Tavern puts on free shows and we sell affordable drinks. We’re here for you and hope you enjoy the place. I think that’s how Mike’s makes small but meaningful efforts to help enrich the cultural life of a city we love. By staying open, providing great drinks and fun shows.
SS: You’ve said that people are more likely to get gigs if they’re part of the community. Could you talk about what “supporting the local business” looks like in practice?
JO: These are people I bartend for on a regular basis. We chat, we exchange ideas and share an appreciation for supporting live music at Mike’s Tavern. In order to pay the bands and artists, we need guests to show up and buy drinks. They show up as paying customers and I do my best to serve them well. Supporting Mike’s looks like an open mic regular showing up at a friend’s Friday night gig. It looks like buying a six pack every now and then or bringing your cousin to the tavern when they visit from Delaware. Or showing up to the Drunk Spelling Bee or Boilo Competition. It looks like keeping Mike’s in mind when you want to celebrate, gather, catch some live music or just drink a Manhattan. It looks like walking through the door. With that said, I’m happy to book gigs with musicians who haven’t been here yet. I enjoy that, too and it’s fun to welcome new performers to Mike’s Tavern.
SS: How do you personally build connections with people who walk through the doors—whether they’re musicians, artists, or just neighbors looking for a beer?
JO: I greet them by their name if I know it. Mike’s is a pretty small place and only one person works it at a time. I make a deliberate effort to be kind and welcoming to people who walk in. It’s important to me that I represent the business well. As a bartender, a direct and effective way to build a connection is remembering what someone likes to drink. I’ve got a knack for remembering conversations and biographical anecdotes, too. But that stuff’s more subconscious. On a personal level, I try to meet people where they’re at. I try to find common ground and operate with respect. I like to listen and I like to share. And damn it if it isn’t fun to make someone a good drink. For me, caring about personalizing the experience of a guest is critical to building connections. I want to get to know people and make them feel welcome. I hope our neighbors, regulars, musicians, and visitors know how much I appreciate their support for the business and community.
SS: From your perspective, what makes Mike’s feel intergenerational? Are there particular stories or nights where you’ve seen different age groups connect?
JO: Hah! Long before I worked here I’d stop by for happy hour and would end up with a seat next to my dad, without the two of us having made plans. My dad introduced me to Mike’s Tavern, actually. I have friends here who are Vietnam War veterans. They drink alongside people in their twenties and thirties and share pleasant conversations. It’s always fun when different age groups connect through live music. The jazz nights stand out in that respect, when college students from Albright enjoy the vibe every bit as much as my buddies Skip and Bob, who are in their seventies. I love it when we have three generations of one family in the house, too! When my friend Zak plays drums at Mike’s his parents and grandparents love to see him perform.
SS: Mike’s has been hosting music since Pete Cammarano owned it in 2010. What does inheriting that tradition mean to you as both a bartender and booker?
JO: I used to tend bar at Stokesay Castle, a neat place on Mount Penn near the Pagoda, Reading’s iconic landmark. Sometimes after the weekend dinner rush at the castle, when I was “first cut,” I’d jet over to Mike’s Tavern to catch the last hour of live music. I was elated. My friend Eric would be behind the bar and he’d greet me with a beer and tell me about the band that was playing. Those experiences were formative, fun and special to me. For years I heard so many excellent musicians at Mike’s - long before I worked here. As a lover of live music, this was my favorite place in my hometown. It still is.
My friend Julie, like Eric, also booked music here for years. I admire how much hard work they both put into booking and working on packed nights. I admire how consistent my boss Pete has been in supporting local art, live music specifically. These are my friends and I am honored to participate in and continue the tradition they cultivated. It’s also important to me to help musicians feel welcome at Mike’s Tavern. Whether they’re playing here for the first time or have been doing it for a decade plus, I want performers to feel encouraged to do their thing and have fun at their gigs. We are blessed with so many top-notch musicians who enjoy playing at Mike’s and sharing their art with our guests. I don’t wanna mess that up.
SS: Wednesdays bring open mics, Fridays are major music nights, and some Saturdays hold surprises. How do you balance consistency with experimentation in the booking schedule?
JO: The open mic on Wednesday is really cool. It balances consistency and experimentation in its own unique way. We usually have a solid crowd that night and the variety of music is spectacular. You never really know who’s gonna play or what you might hear. Some nights musicians mostly perform solo or as duos. On other nights our friends will utilize the house drums and plug in electric guitars and collaborate for more of a full-band open mic experience. Every once in a while there’s poetry and comedy. Shout out to Rose, our neighbor, friend and the MC/sound tech every Wednesday night. She’s remarkably consistent with her passion, presence and attention to detail. And big shout out to my aforementioned friend Eric Horst, who used to bartend at Mike’s. He put a great deal of effort into starting an open mic night here and building it up into what it is today. His effort was always consistent and it provided a special gathering place for a community of open mic-ers.
Consistency also comes in the form of bands who can draw big crowds on a Friday night. Not every Friday needs to be a bonanza and that’s not the expectation, really. But that’s the night I plan on being busiest. I enjoy the butterflies in my gut when I’m waiting to see if a crowd files in to check out a band. It’s really gratifying when they do and still great fun when they don’t. I experiment by bringing in new performers to provide variety. Variety keeps Fridays fresh. You can see a familiar, favorite local band one week and someone from out of town you’ve never heard of the next.
Saturdays are less crowded nights for music. They just don’t have the same juice as Fridays. I schedule events like piano nights (we have a beautiful upright acoustic in decent shape), solo/duo shows, bands just starting out, or veteran performers who are content to play for a friendly price, beer and tips. The flexibility of my approach to booking Saturdays provides me with room to experiment as I book shows.
SS: Why has Mike’s never had a cover charge, and how does that decision shape the kind of energy and audience the bar attracts?
JO: A cover charge just isn’t Pete’s style. Mike’s Tavern provides fair prices across the board and we don’t want our guests to pay for the pleasure of listening to live music here. We want to do business with musicians who are open to playing for fair wages. Nobody’s getting rich here but we sure are having fun. The audiences go out of their way to express gratitude for the quality of music provided for free. They are generous tippers for the bartenders and the bands. They show up often and show love to the business, the performers and the community of live music lovers who attend alongside them. That’s more valuable to Mike’s than collecting cover charges.
SS: What do you think keeps musicians coming back—not just to perform, but to hang out, listen, and be part of the tavern’s scene?
JO: The quality of music, for one. You can hear excellent live music at Mike’s every week. Our creative friends are drawn to the energy that comes with these performances. I think they also know how a crowd informs the vibe of a room. They don’t want their peers to play in an empty bar. Many of these musicians have been playing the same open mics, including Mike’s, for years. Some of them have played in bands together. They’ve performed as opening acts at each other’s shows. There is a kinship among many of them. There’s an awareness that Reading doesn’t have many small businesses that support live local music the way we do. Mike’s feels like home to many of them and they’re happy to hang out here on nights they’re not in the spotlight. Most of the time they don’t end up talking about or connecting through music. They find other common ground to stand on together and they embrace how much fun it is to hang out at the tavern.
SS: You’ve mentioned that sometimes it’s just about “shooting the shit” at the bar. How does casual conversation help keep Mike’s welcoming and alive?
JO: Casual conversation is a key ingredient in the secret sauce here. I think that’s highlighted daily during happy hour. The Wednesday open mic night is also reflective of the joy one can find just chillin at Mike’s. If you sit down at the bar and you don’t know anyone, odds are you’ll still end up in an engaging conversation with other guests or the bartender on duty. The willingness of our guests to get off of their phones and be present in the moment is palpable. It’s a small place and the friendly energy provided by guests and staff bounces off the walls. If however you don’t wanna shoot the shit with fellow bargoers, that’s cool too. There’s always space to do your own thing. We have tables throughout the rest of the tavern. They’re good for private thoughts or conversations, adding to a sketchbook, grading papers, reading or catching up on emails.
SS: How do you see Mike’s blending beer-drinking culture with music and visual art into one space?
JO: Someone walks toward the tavern on a Friday night. As they approach on foot or from their Uber or parked car they start to hear live rock n roll through the walls of a row home. When they step through the tavern door they’re greeted not only by the music but also paintings and photographs all over the walls. Maybe they stop at the taps and let the bartender tell them what beer is on. Or maybe they walk over to the fully stocked beer cooler and grab a bottle of Chimay. It’s a feast for the senses. The music sounds great. The variety of beer is impressive and delicious. The visual art captivates the eye. This is a reflection of my boss Pete’s great taste. He’s created such a vibrant space. There’s a lot of treasure on the walls in the form of vintage memorabilia from now defunct Reading breweries (Reading Premium, Sunshine). You pick up on this unique blend of beer and art after taking a few steps into the building.
SS: The walls of Mike’s feature found art and work from local artists. How important is it to you to maintain that visual vibrancy alongside the sound of live music?
JO: The art adorning our walls is all curated by Pete. I’ve only added two items to the walls in the years that I’ve worked here. I know Pete enjoys adding new art to the walls, or taking some off, rotating it. He takes pride in showcasing our friend’s visual art and in highlighting the beauty of stuff he finds in random places. I think his commitment to featuring visual art is epitomized by his business relationship with our friend Tim Reigel. Tim has painted the piano, the doors, the bathroom walls and the beer fridge. Along the back wall leading to the basement Tim painted a beautiful tribute to Pete’s late friend Spaceman. It’s a psychedelic moonscape that pays homage to Spaceman, stuff we love at Mike’s and local iconography. Pete loves to keep Mike’s vibrant with the visual art he finds and commissions. I admire his commitment and appreciate his taste. Our guests do too. The stuff on the walls is one of my very favorite elements of Mike’s.
SS: Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Lynn Nottage drew inspiration from Mike’s when creating Sweat. What does it mean for you to work at a place that has left such an imprint on Reading’s larger cultural story?
JO: Sweat is an extraordinary work of art. I’m really grateful to have seen it twice. I first saw it at Studio 54 and was stunned by the set’s likeness to Mike’s. I’ll never forget how much that play moved me. Mike’s Tavern having a direct link to a Pulitzer Prize winning drama isn’t just a fun fact I get to recite. To me, it’s a compelling reminder of what an emotionally resonant place this tavern is. People pass time together in places like Mike’s. There are stories here. There’s imagination here. What a delight it is that actors from all over have visited Mike’s Tavern to soak up inspiration for their performances in Sweat. We love having another connection to the arts, this one with theater. I think stories about our hometown of Reading are worth sharing.
SS: What do you hope the next chapter of music and art at Mike’s looks like?
JO: I hope to welcome new performers on Friday and Saturday nights. It’s a goal of mine to book younger, more diverse bands than the mostly white dudes I book now. Reading is a predominantly Latino city. Latin music at Mike’s will be fun and worthwhile. I will continue making an effort to feature women musicians also. I’d like to commission a painting or two for our walls, too. Still brainstorming what that might look like.
SS: If someone walks into Mike’s for the first time—maybe on a Wednesday open mic—what do you hope they take away from the experience?
JO: I hope they have fun! That’s the goal for everyone. If they’re performers, I hope they feel free to express themselves and do their thing. I hope they sense that they’re in a welcoming, friendly place. They’ll hopefully pick up on the fact that Rose is a wiz running sound and navigating the changes in personnel and instruments from one time slot to another. Our open mic should be comfortable and efficient for performers. We’re blessed to have that infrastructure in place. Our friend and neighbor Zack DeSantis expertly installed a new PA system acquired for us by our buddy Mike Santarelli (SanCo Light and Sound). I hope people continue to enjoy using this equipment and treating it with respect. I hope they pick up on the vibe that other musicians will sit in with them. It’s always fun to meet new friends - the more the merrier! For everyone who comes just to hang out and enjoy the music - I hope they have some pretzels and a beverage and meet some of the wonderful people who support Mike’s Tavern every Wednesday. I hope they feel welcome and at home. I hope they keep coming back.