Crazy Zack’s

Crazy Zack’s was the quintessential late-’80s Clemson nightclub that nearly every alum of that era has a story about. Interestingly, this venue went through several names, but two stand out: Bullwinkle’s and Crazy Zack’s. In the early 1980s it was known as Bullwinkle’s – a bar named after the cartoon moose – and was famous (or infamous) for its outrageous nickel beer nights. Yes, on Wednesday nights a draft beer cost just 5 cents at Bullwinkle’s, meaning a single dollar could keep you partying all night​tigernet.com. Needless to say, those nights were wild and drew huge crowds of Clemson students looking for the cheapest buzz in town. Sometime later, under new management, the club rebranded as Crazy Zack’s, but it remained largely the same kind of high-energy dance bar with super-cheap drink specials. Crazy Zack’s was located “down in the hole” off Hwy 93 near the city municipal building – a bit removed from the main downtown strip and tucked in a low spot, which made it somewhat hard to find and not within easy walking distance of campus​tigernet.com. Its tricky location meant it never had the consistent foot traffic of College Avenue bars, but it also gave it an “anything goes” off-campus vibe. Fraternity and sorority groups often held themed socials there, and it was a rite of passage for Clemson freshmen to venture to Crazy Zack’s at least once. One poster on a Clemson message board joked that Crazy Zack’s provided him “a rite of passage in ’86 as a freshman…if you know what I mean”​tigernet.com – strongly implying that it was the first Clemson bar many new students ever snuck into. The bar went through yet another iteration as The Underground (and possibly other names), but the spirit remained the same​tigernet.com: loud music (a mix of Top 40, rock, and dance), a pulsating dance floor, and plenty of cheap alcohol fueling the fun. By the early ’90s, Crazy Zack’s had closed, and the building sat vacant for years. (It was so well-known that a recent student apartment development on the site was nostalgically named “The Zack’s” in its honor​independentmail.com.) While its existence was relatively short-lived, Crazy Zack’s burned brightly in Clemson’s nightlife history – the kind of place where memories are hazy, the floor was sticky, and everyone had a good time. From Bullwinkle’s nickel drafts to Crazy Zack’s crazy nights, this club’s legacy is a collage of neon lights, loud music, and the youthful exuberance of the 1980s.