On Ladies’ Night at the recently opened Half Full, the wood-lined barroom is crowded, a shuffling line at the bar eager for another $2 batch-mix martini or $2 chicken tender.
Sized for the price, the tangy drinks would not stand out on a tasting tray, but the house-made chicken tenders – and the $2 fried pickles and french fries also on the specials menu – have quickly created a crowd of Thursday regulars. Some were certainly drawn in by the deal itself, advertised on the watering hole’s street-facing sign, but other neighborhood patrons have likely been coming to 2039 Airport since it was the Skylark Lounge, or even remember queer dive Bernadette’s.
Longtime blues club Skylark Lounge, owned and operated by Johnny LaTouf, closed in April 2025. When Billy Marsden reopened the joint as Half Full this September, the Glassmith founder felt strongly about maintaining the history of those beloved institutions. “The culture of the place is still in the place,” he insists.
Indoor renovations were necessary, he tells me when we meet at the bar some days after Ladies’ Night, but the glassblower and entrepreneur wanted to be sure the character wasn’t lost. He didn’t even want to paint over the splotchy and stained concrete floor, but his wife, Katherine Tepper-Marsden, assured him a fresh coat would quickly grow just as well-worn. Marsden deferred to her aesthetic expertise as the adapted barroom took shape, borrowing items from her personal collection of vintage bar signs and thrift store-sourced, dive-appropriate paintings.
“If every layer of a place has a certain vibrancy that it gives out, [in] any real cleaning or remodeling, you lose some of that,” Marsden says. The dimly lit space maintains a grungy feel and the weekly event calendar is crafted around nods to the communities that’ve called the space theirs – and new interlopers, courtesy of glassblowing connections.
Wednesday’s Fairyoke, hosted by DJ Fairy Aries, calls back to Bernadette’s beloved Lizzy Caroloke nights, then hosted by Lizzy Carol. Soul Man Sam has resurrected his Sunday Soul residency with signature style. Monday night’s blues jam, hosted by Richard “Dicky Shreds” Wells, continues the spirit of Skylark’s “Tap Ya Toe Jam.” With backing provided by Wells’ house band, the Smokes, the new tradition has welcomed the return of longtime stage favorites like harmonica-wielding weed historian Rattlesnake and a handful of newcomers from Dizzy Rooster or Kenny Dorham’s blues jam, which wraps up just before Half Full’s starts.
“Everyone’s got stories, and everyone is just so excited to share a piece of themselves onstage – even if the bar is only half full,” says Wells. An all-night happy hour for musicians and glassblowers was launched on Mondays to celebrate artists and draw in more to the space, but Ladies’ Night is the most popular evening so far.
Recently, the team hosted a three-day music festival and glassblowing competition, Smoke and Mirrors, between the Glassmith, Half Full, and the intervening parking lot. “The goal is to make it an annual thing,” says Kurt Fisher, a glassblower who oversees operations at all three Glassmith locations and has been instrumental in establishing the team at Half Full and its digital and marketing operations. He and Marsden hope to further integrate the two communities on a regular basis at the bar by serving drinks in uniquely decorated glasses crafted next door, incorporating artisan glassware into the decor and lighting, and hosting crossover events – like an ornament display show planned for Christmastime. On Tuesdays, while the Glassmith livestreams their glassblowing competition show, Glass Man Standing, next door, Wells hosts trivia at Half Full, incorporating a glassblowing round of questions.
“Our next step is to figure out how to fill the place more consistently,” says Marsden. Though he’s not big on asking for advice, the scrappy business owner knows how to spot an opportunity when he sees one, and is all right with the follow-through taking a little time. Rather than a splashy opening, he and his team have been slowly reintroducing the bar, working out the kinks and realizing new potentials as they go. A water station – or at least free waters – would be a welcome addition, and Marsden plans on slowly elevating the drinks service and gently expanding the food menu under the guidance of his young head chef Anaphat “Pie” Chantangsu.
“Fortunately or unfortunately, we’re starting as soon as we can,” Marsden says with a sheepishly confident smile. “We’re constantly surprised, fixing the problem[s], and getting better for the new people, while at the same time desperately trying to hold on to the people that are already here.”
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This article appears in November 13 • 2026.
