For years Todd Littleton fretted when patrons of his bar in downtown Salisbury reached for their keys and made for the exit.
Now they have another choice.
Littleton, who owns Benchwarmers on East Fisher Street, bought a school bus for the handicapped at an auction, tore out the rear elevator, threw a zebra-patterned cover over the driver’s seat and added a stereo system that turns this vehicle into a roving concert.
“We’re just trying to get everybody home as safely and easily as possible,” said Littleton, who opened Benchwarmers six years ago. “It’s geared to be fun and functional. We want to promote not drinking and driving.”
Jason Miller, a Freightliner employee, lives in Salisbury and rides the bus several times a week.
“It was the responsible thing to do, to get everybody a safe ride home,” he said.
The short, maroon-colored bus seats up to 15. It makes hourly trips to Catawba College on Wednesday nights, when Benchwarmers features “college night.”
But the service isn’t just for customers who live in town. For groups of eight or more, drivers will venture to other parts of Rowan County — at no charge.
Chris Creswell takes the bus to home on High Rock Lake.
“You know about all those problems with people getting DWIs after leaving bars,” Creswell said between sips from a bottle of Rolling Rock. “This is a great service.”
“It’ll save me some money on cab fare; that’s for sure,” said his buddy Joel Lutz, who lives on Faith Road.
Since he put it into use, Littleton has even taken the bus to Mardi Gras and to Charlotte’s Blockbuster Pavilion. Next on the itinerary is a Widespread Panic concert in Raleigh.
When Littleton’s dad opened Benchwarmers in March 1995, the bar was half its current size. Littleton, now 29, managed it the first four years of its existence, after serving a stint in the U.S. Air Force.
Then he took it over. He knocked out a dividing wall, built a patio on the back side and introduced pool, foosball and video games.
These days the bar is open noon to 2 a.m., Monday through Saturday, and features both live music and deejays.
“It was originally meant to be kind of a daytime thing, and it picked up so I just rolled with it,” Littleton said.
Last month, Littleton decided to replace the front windows of the business with walls after someone broke in while he was out of town. Police still haven’t found the culprit.
Littleton wants to work out a regular route for the bus. He said driving after drinking was getting too risky for customers.
“These days, it’s just too dangerous,” said Littleton, who was charged with a DWI himself in 1996.
“This is something fun, but it’s something people can use, too.”
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