About Double Barrel

Our Story

In 1862, a house builder named John Gilleland had a bold idea. He drew up plans for a cannon with two barrels — built to fire chained cannonballs in unison and clear the field in a single shot. The Athens Foundry cast it. The local militia hauled it out for testing. And the moment they lit the fuse, the barrels didn't fire in time, the chain snapped, and the cannonballs took off in directions of their own choosing. One took out a chimney. One tore through a sapling. One is rumored to have killed a cow.

But the story didn't end on the test field. The Double-Barrelled Cannon found its way to City Hall Square, where it's been sitting ever since — pointed defiantly north, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, photographed by every generation of UGA students that's walked past it. Athens didn't celebrate it because it worked. Athens celebrated it because it was ours: ambitious, audacious, a little imperfect, and unmistakably Athens.

That's the spirit we built this bar around. Double Barrel sits three blocks east of the cannon on East Broad Street, carrying the same name on purpose. We're not in the business of perfect — we're in the business of memorable, the kind of night you'll be telling stories about for the next 160 years. Same audacity. Same Athens roots. Same willingness to swing for the fences and laugh when we miss.

We're Hiring

Come join The Double Barrel team and be a part of Athnes history. We are always looking for excelent staff. If you would like to apply, click here for the online application.