A new OBX tradition: The 12 bars of Christmas

By Maggie Miles | Outer Banks Voice on November 10, 2023

From left to right: Chris Miller, current co-owner of Goombay’s; Todd Levy, Bar Manager and Head Elf at Jingle 12; Mark Ballog, Lucky 12/Jingle 12 Owner and founder of 12 Bars of Christmas; Tony Sipe, Goombays Co-Owner and Derek Boney, Jingle 12 elf.

Lucky 12 Tavern transforms into Jingle 12

Jingle 12 (Lucky 12 Tavern) added two igloos, a ski lodge, and an ice fishing shed in the backyard that private groups could reserve.

Lucky 12 Toys forTots event

Group outside Mama Klaus’s (Mama Kwan’s Tiki Bar and Grill )

Bonzer Shack becomes The Broken Candy Cane.

The Broken Candy Cane has a Grinch theme.

People getting festive for the party bus tour to all of the Christmas pop-ups.

Jolly Roger Restaurant becomes Holly Jolly Christmas.

Holly Jolly Christmas Ugly Sweater Contest

Christmas themed cocktails at Goombrrrs (Goombay’s Grille and Raw Bar)

Santa at Goombrrrs.

 

Mark Ballog has owned Lucky 12 Tavern in Nags Head since 2006, but he has been working in Outer Banks restaurants ever since 1991. Every year, he watched as the sandbar went from a bustling vacation destination in the summer with hundreds of thousands of tourists waiting in line at restaurants to the dark, quiet winter months when restaurants are lucky to get enough customers to get through until the busy season starts again.

Historically, for restaurant workers on the Outer Banks, the time between Thanksgiving and Christmas break can be glum. “You’re just watching your staff’s hours get cut, you’re closing early, your servers and bartenders aren’t making any money, your kitchen folks, your managers, like everybody’s just getting by,” said Ballog.

That’s changing now with an idea that has grown to include 12 different Dare County restaurants and bars now plunging headfirst into Christmas spirit—from the décor and decorations to the food and drink. Not only will the 12 Bars of Christmas liven up a dark and quiet time of year on the Outer Banks, it could evolve into a real “shoulder season” attraction.

It began back in 2018 when Ballog went to Nashville and heard about some Christmas pop-up bars that had been surfacing around the city. He didn’t know what a Christmas pop-up bar was, but he found one. It was a bar in a hotel that had completely transformed itself into a Christmas wonderland—with a new name, a new interior filled with Christmas decor and a completely Christmas-themed menu with Christmas-themed cocktails and food.

“I walked in, and I was like, ‘This is unbelievable,’” recalled Ballog. I said, ‘I’m doing this next year.’ It just took my breath away.”

An antique collector, he spent the next year gathering all the vintage Christmas decor he could find. He asked his mom. He asked his friend’s parents. He posted on Facebook and Instagram and Craigslist. He went to yard sales, flea markets and thrift stores. His staff came up with a completely new menu filled with fun Christmas-themed cocktails with notes of candy cane and gingerbread. And in December of 2019, Jingle 12 was born.

Jingle 12 really worked, with sales for the month of December skyrocketing by 90% and his restaurant staff taking home tips rivaling the summer months. The community was also ecstatic about it. In 2020, he put two igloos, a ski lodge, and an ice fishing shed in the backyard that private groups could reserve. It was the perfect way people get out and do something during the holidays while social distancing, adding another level of comfort during the holidays during the COVID pandemic.

“People were really excited about it,” said Ballog. “There’s a lot of people here that don’t really have any families and stuff because a lot of people move here and, you know, December is not a very fun time for a lot of people if you don’t have a significant other or really close friends or family around. So, I mean, I think it kind of filled that void. And there is such a thing as spreading Christmas cheer…you know.”

Ballog thought if his restaurant was experiencing this kind of success, other local restaurants should be able to do the same. He started reaching out to fellow bar and restaurant owners, and last year more three establishments joined in. Bonzer Shack became The Broken Candy Cane, Goombay’s Grille and Raw Bar became Goombrrrs, and Mama Kwan’s Tiki Bar and Grill became Mama Klaus’s.

This year, they are going all out with 12 different bars joining from across the Outer Banks, with the addition of Outer Banks Distilling (Deck the Hulls), Jolly Roger Restaurant (Holly Jolly Christmas), Jack Browns Beer and Burger Joint (Jack Frost’s), Two Roads Tavern (McCallister’s Corner), Poor Richard’s Sandwich Shop (Poor Rudolph’s), Blue Crab Tavern (Sandy Claws), The Brewing Station (Christmas Vacation Station), and Blue Water Grill (Aww Shucks).

During the season, each business will completely transform into its own Christmas theme, with special events for all ages throughout the month, including holiday markets, kids’ crafts workshops, ugly sweater and adult gingerbread house contests, toy drives, Christmas karaoke, and more. Ballog created a presentation he gave to each owner, showing the financial investment involved and a step-by-step guide for everything they need to know to transform every aspect of their bar and restaurant. He’s been holding monthly meetings all year to get everyone prepared.

The 12 bars have also partnered up with OBX Party Bus to give VIP tours from place to place to with sign-ups available on their websites. There will also be a passport, available at each for purchase, where you can get a passport stamp at each location. Passports are $5 and each Christmas bar is picking a local charity to donate the money to.

“This whole place is gonna be like a Christmas Island,” said Todd Levy, Bar Manager and Head Elf at Jingle 12, “And it’s gonna be great for everybody…rentals will go up, we’ll make money. You know, this will kind of be a destination to come to like the Outer Banks as a whole with all this Christmas stuff.”

Levy has been working at Lucky 12 since before Jingle 12 started and was part of the staff that Ballog wanted to help bring in business for that original year. He says he’s definitely felt that impact personally.

“With December normally being quiet and slow, to go to doing July numbers and making that type of money – it’s definitely, you know, impacted it, and we…crushed it,” Levy said. “The top five busiest days in 2022, four of them were in December.”

Tony Sipe was a bartender at Goombay’s for 12 years before purchasing it with Chris Miller in March of this year. Sipe was one of the guest celebrity bartenders that Jingle 12 has brought in over the years. Last year, he was the bartender at Goombay’s when they transformed to Goombrrrs, with a North Pole theme, their logo being an old school yeti sitting on an iceberg sipping a drink, with lots of blue and white lights and a heavy focus on dining as well as the bar.

This year will be Sipe’s first year as an owner, running the show with Miller. He says what he really loved about doing it last year was the camaraderie and fun it brings for the network of restaurants, driving to Virginia together to get decorations and coming up with fun ideas together.

“It’s like a renewal of energy,” said Sipe, explaining that Ballog wanted everyone to be successful, so he was eager to help and encourage them. “It was just really, really, fun man, just like everyone kind of coming together with different ideas and decorating and things like that. It was just fun. That’s the best way to describe it.”

Scott Smith, owner of Outer Banks Distilling, is one of three spots in downtown Manteo that will be joining the fun. It will be transformed into Deck the Hulls pop-up with a traditional Roanoke Island Christmas theme, featuring nautical heritage and will be releasing specialty rums throughout the month.

“I was flattered they reached out to us to be a part of it. You know, we try to work with them every year pushing cocktails with our rum and now that we can have the bar here over in our distillery, it just made perfect sense to be a part of it to try to spread some over here to Roanoke Island,” said Smith. “I think it’s really good for the whole Outer Banks to really give people a reason to come here.”

According to Lee Nettles, executive director at the Outer Banks Visitors Bureau, the Bureau has been present at the monthly planning meetings and plans to add it to a larger program of Outer Banks Christmas events they are bundling together at obxmas.org.

“And certainly 12 Bars is something that we’re happy to add to that list. And we think it’ll be real appealing,” offered Nettles. “I think it’s bound to have a positive impact on visitation in December. We’ll just have to see what the extent of it is. But I certainly think it’ll add to the overall appeal and charm of the area for the holidays for sure.”

Visit the 12 Bars of Christmas website for a listing of events.

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