Lawrenceburg Spotlight: Captain's Tavern

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(LAWRENCEBURG, Ind.) – A bar and restaurant in downtown Lawrenceburg offers a family atmosphere, great food and drink options and also pays homage to the town’s roots.

Captains Tavern was founded and owned by Billy Baxter and his wife, Dawn, and is located at 1 West High Street.

Billy had previously owned a construction business where he was the contractor for three other restaurants in the Cincinnati-area. He has also worked in transportation for Hollywood movies that have been filmed in the Tri-State.

After Dawn retired from her job as a director of nursing, the couple decided to purchase the historic 1836 building on High Street.

Billy single-handedly remodeled the entire building and transformed it into one of the most unique taverns in the entire region.

The name ‘Captains Tavern’ is a tribute to flatboat operator Capt. Samuel Vance who founded Lawrenceburg in 1802.

Captain’s opened for the first time on June 1, 2016 and their very first customers happened to be the Chippendale’s, who were performing right across the street at the Lawrenceburg Event Center.

Since then, they occasionally receive visits from well-known people and tribute bands who are playing the area. Some other guests have included original AC/DC singer Dave Evans, Foreigner, and the Travis Tritt Band.

However, their favorite guests are those who live locally and develop close relationships with the staff.

“All of our customers and staff become more like family and we’ve actually even had people meet here for the first time who later got married,” Billy said.

Captains has a permanent honor for their beloved bartender, Abby Hensley, who passed away at the age of 23 earlier this year.

More Than A Tavern:

Captain’s is more of a restaurant than a tavern. They are open to people under 21-years-old and there is an upstairs area available for private parties, class reunions and other events.

Captain’s offers a large menu that features a lot of homemade items. Selections include their popular reuben, chicken wraps, burgers, hoagies, salads, Cincinnati-style chili and much more.

“We had a guy come in one day who ordered our Rueben three different times, one for lunch, one for dinner and got one to-go for the next day,” Billy said.