Welcome to "Weekend Warriors." Every Friday, we run a shining example of a reader's recent makings---to say TGIF and send you off right into your own weekend's projects. Owen Dunne and his business partner, Dusty Ricks, own a nightclub and bar called Odessa in the city of Wilmington, North Carolina. "Business was down," Owen writes, "so we decided to do something about it."

Something more interesting than a new drink special, that is.

As Owen explained in his first email to me: "We got an old City of Wilmington transit bus from the 1960s and cut it in half and brought it up to our fourth-floor bar. We then re-assembled it and turned it into a DJ booth and VIP lounge." We had to know more.

RM: So let's start at the beginning. How did you buy an old bus?

Owen Dunne: My partner Dusty Ricks found it in a junk yard/used car lot/dodgy used car parts garage. It was free as long as we took it at our expense, which we did. We then thought about what we were going to do with a very large 1960's transit bus. Since we're in the bar business we decided the most obvious thing to do with it was to turn it into a bar---a roving bar! One night here...one night there...but alas, here in North Carolina they're kind of strict with the liquor laws. We then reconvened and decided that our bar, Odessa, needed some love. We've been open three years and you know how that goes in the bar business. We needed new energy and what better way to create some energy than to put a bus in your bar!? As it happened we also needed a new DJ booth, and before you know it we we were standing on top of the bus cutting it in half with a concrete saw. Dusty Ricks did all the work, because like all good partnerships the things he's good at, I'm bad at and the things I'm good at he's bad at...and I'm not good at cutting buses in half!

Here's a picture of Dusty beginning to cut the bus. The guy beside him is holding a fire extinguisher. The gasoline tank on the concrete saw was leaking so we were concerned that Dusty would catch fire or explode (when you cut metal, sparks fly everywhere).

RM: Along the same lines, how did you get the bus into your club?

Owen Dunne: Did I mention our bar is on the fourth floor? So we had to cut the pieces small enough to be carried up the fire escape. We did it early on a Sunday morning because we weren't too sure how our landlord would feel about it. We figured once we got it up there and re-assembled he'd think it was cool and if he didn't then it would be already there and we'd be in a better position to negotiate! So Dusty and crew chopped up the first 14 feet of the bus, and I took the pictures. Dusty then re-assembled it in his driveway---the neighbors are used to his "odd" projects. He built a new floor and re-assembled the pieces around it. It was then thoroughly cleaned. Then we took it apart again and very early on that Sunday morning we hauled it downtown and carried it up four stories on the fire escape to our bar!

RM: What happened when you got it up there?

Owen Dunne: Over the course of the next five weeks it was fully restored. Dusty is very detailed so everything right down to the orginal colors, original stickers (WTA---Wilmington Transport Authority, which doesn't even exist anymore!) and tires and headlights, etc were fully restored. We hid the bus behind a huge curtain and got a buzz going about what exactly was behind the curtain! Then we had a big party and everyone was like, "What!?!"

RM: And how does it do as a DJ booth?

Owen Dunne: It's fantastic. Of course, all the DJs are clamoring to play on the bus.

Here's some more info, from Owen:

• The headlights flash in multi-color - like club lights • The destination sign now reads - Odessa - that also flashes in multi-color! • The interior seating is covered in leopardskin and red vinyl---how cool is that!---in fact I've concluded that if all buses had interiors like ours more people would ride the bus! • Where the exterior mirrors use to be we mounted 18" speakers! • We put a fog machine under the bus so it blows out smoke---people go nuts over that. • We extended the bumper so people can dance on it---for some reason girls love to grind on it! • We left the front windows out so you can see the DJ • The DJ stands where the driver used to sit---Dusty built a special DJ table...

RM: Finally, was it really good for business?

Owen Dunne: Yes, it has helped business---we're up about 30%!

Got a project, finished or ongoing, that you’d like to share? Write to info@readymademag.com and let us know.

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