The easy version of a Roaring ’20s party is all pearls, champagne towers and polished Gatsby glamour. Charlie Mike’s Pub wants wanted posters.
For its annual Halloween celebration, the Fayetteville gathering place is reaching for the grittier side of Prohibition: bootleggers, federal agents, underground speakeasies and just enough rebellion to suit a pub whose name means “continue mission.” The timing carries an added purpose. Charlie Mike’s marked its 20th anniversary April 6 and has spent the year celebrating the people who kept its mission alive.
“What better way to continue celebrating 20 years than with a Roaring ’20s Halloween party?” owner Tracy Guthrie said. “We’re not going for the fancy Gatsby look.”
The free celebration runs from 8 p.m. to 2 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 31, at Charlie Mike’s, 195 Starpoint Drive. A live band will begin at 8 p.m., followed by a DJ playing a broad mix of music with enough jazz to preserve the speakeasy mood. Guests can compete for costume prizes, collect free Charlie Mike’s merchandise and step into a themed photo area.
The décor will include vintage wanted posters and a transformed entrance, but one part of the pub will remain untouched.
“The one thing that never changes is our memorial wall,” Guthrie said. “We never cover it, decorate over it or take away from its meaning. That wall represents our fallen, and honoring them will always come first.”
That decision reveals why Charlie Mike’s cannot be reduced to a party theme. The pub’s walls hold Special Operations Forces memorabilia, signed photographs and memories connected to the military community surrounding Fort Bragg. Celebration and remembrance occupy the same room because both are part of the pub’s identity.
“There’s room to celebrate life while always remembering those who gave theirs,” Guthrie said.
The Halloween concept also borrows from a local temperament. Guthrie sees a rebellious thread running through old Hay Street, Fayetteville’s history and generations of soldiers who have called Fort Bragg home. The party will translate that spirit through gangsters, flappers, bootleggers, and federal agents rather than pretending the 1920s were simply an elegant costume parade.
Costumes are encouraged but not restricted to the era. Guthrie said guests arriving as Dracula or in another traditional Halloween costume will be as welcome as those wearing fedoras and fringe. Her larger goal is to make the night feel open to regulars and first-time visitors alike.
“You don’t have to dress a certain way, impress anybody or be anybody other than yourself,” she said. “Come in, relax, have a drink, make a new friend or catch up with an old one.”
Guests of all ages are welcome, but everyone should expect an identification check. Guthrie said anyone drinking while underage or purchasing alcohol for a minor will be required to leave. The pub has ample parking, and guests who plan to drink should arrange a designated driver or rideshare.
Beginning at 9:30 p.m., guests who bring the event flyer can receive a food discount. No cover charge is required, and newcomers do not need an invitation or a connection to the military community.
For Guthrie, the measure of the evening will not be the number of elaborate costumes or photographs taken beneath the decorations. It will be whether someone who entered for Halloween leaves wanting to return when the wanted posters are gone.
After 20 years, that may be Charlie Mike’s most enduring act of rebellion: creating a place where nobody has to perform to belong.