Lou's Pub & Package Store

Lou’s Pub and Package Store is a neighborhood bar and liquor store located in a 1,000 square-foot storefront at 726 29th Street South in Lakeview. It was founded in 1987 by Lou Zaden and is one of three package stores with bar service whose licenses were grandfathered into Alabama’s current licensing law. It is currently owned by Michael Carpri. Zaden was noted for teasing his regular customers when they hadn’t been by in a while. The bar was known for attracting a diverse clientele which included working-class imbibers as well as wheelers and dealers. One well-known regular, Donald Watkins, once said that “More deals were done in that little pub than in any of the towers downtown.” (Whitmire – 2008) Lou’s was named one of the “Best Bars in America” in the June 2007 edition of Esquire magazine.