The chances of the Village growing in popularity for Ball State University students just suffered another major blow.
Doc's owner Mike Martin announced this weekend that Doc's on Dill, located on North Dill Street, has opened its doors for the final time and is now closed.
Having been open for less than one year, this bar had quickly become a popular addition to the Village with students flocking to the business that had become the go-to place near campus to hear good local music. Despite its popularity, Doc's on Dill now joins places like Wing Out, Creole Kid, La Bamba, Campus Cuts and Mo's Tavern on the carousel of businesses to come and go from the Village.
Unlike some short-lived businesses in the Village, though, Doc's on Dill achieved its original goal.
Moving into the Village last fall, Martin's main goal was to give Ball State students a chance to experience good, local musicians' performances without having to drive to downtown Muncie. That goal was reached as popular bands such as Red Light Remedy, Eight Stories High and the Rich Hardesty Band would routinely perform at the near-campus venue.
This bar also gave students who were not big into the Muncie music scene a glimpse of it without having to venture too far from Ball State. How much Doc's on Dill contributed to the beginning of a revitalization of the Muncie music scene can be debated, but it was a new bar that had largely started the new growth in local music this year.
The effects of Doc's on Dill closing, though, could have more negative impacts for the Village than for the Doc's company.
Doc's Music Hall, located on Walnut Street, will remain open. The bar should still remain a popular venue for local bands and students to visit. It could even become more popular now that its biggest competition - Doc's on Dill - has closed.
With the Village, numerous questions with unresolved answers still continue to linger.
What business will now take over the space formerly held by Doc's on Dill? Can that new business or other businesses bring in good Muncie bands or will Doc's on Dill's attempt at this goal be completely forgotten? What are the chances of businesses succeeding in the Village if even successful ones such as Doc's on Dill eventually leave?
These questions don't have a simple answers. However, these answers are needed and preferably before the start of the school year in August when all the students return to Ball State.
The first step to fixing the vacancy and problems in the Village may be to bring in another bar similar to Doc's on Dill. Good luck, though, trying to replace a business with the popularity and name of Doc's.
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