- April 19, 2024
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Black Cloud Restaurant & Lounge at Thunder Gulch Campground celebrated its 10th anniversary, Saturday, July 23, with drinks, deals and deer heads.
For the past decade, Thunder Gulch Campground, in Bunnell, has remained one of Flagler County’s most preserved slices of Southern Americana.
On Saturday, July 23, its decade anniversary was celebrated with an all-day eating, drinking and dancing bash — an event some might be so bold as to call a hoe-down.
“We started out in a tiny, little building,” said proprietor John Seibel, of what is now the camp’s restaurant, bar and main meeting area. Seibel co-owns the campground with his wife, Sandy. He is also the director of Heritage Crossroads, the historic byways nonprofit.
In the early days, people would buy beer from a shed-like stand, then sit at outside picnic tables to drink, he said. But that didn’t last long.
In 2002, a 5,000-square-foot building was built, a garage/barn hybrid with no roof and massive doors which allowed bikers to drive their rigs right into the bar.
“We’ve improved it every year since we built it,” Seibel said.
Eventually, the building was enclosed, windows were put in, a roof was installed. They put in sliding glass doors, then air conditioning and carpet, a dance floor and a 14-by-25-foot stage.
In 2005, the Seibels began serving food and expanded the bar. Today, underneath a ceiling border of a dozen mounted buffalo, elk, antelope and deer heads, the Black Cloud Restaurant & Lounge at Thunder Gulch hosts shows and events almost every night.
“They really have it going on over there,” said County Commissioner Nate McLaughlin, who once performed at the Black Cloud and held a campaign event and also his victory party there.
“It’s set up like a mountain cabin ... a retreat,” said eight-year Black Cloud patron Ray Stevens. Stevens organized McLaughlin’s parties at Thunder Gulch, ran for sheriff in 2008 and plans to run again in 2012. He cites the venue’s western flair, its antique guns on the wall, the Flagler memorabilia and John Wayne relics.
Over time, Seibel and his wife have invested $750,000 — Seibel knows the number exactly — into transforming what 10 years ago was empty land into a local fixture.
“I’m 75,” he said, “and this is my final accomplishment.”
On Tuesday nights, a 15-piece swing band performs onstage. Various groups rock out on Fridays. Saturday is Elvis night, when county celebrity Randy Filippi puts on his Elvis impersonator show. Then on Sundays, there’s karaoke with Harry Oke, whom Seibel describes as “the best around.”
“And this has all really drawn (a crowd), thank God,” he said. It’s a crowd he’s quick to refer to as “family.”
“I sit back, and it makes me just glow,” he said, “just watching people have the great time they have here.”
Seibel’s place is also a venue for various community groups, such Flagler’s Gun and Archery Club and the Red Hats. Biker events are held there, too.
Visit www.thundergulch-campground.com for more.
