The TApp Room began its story in 2011, when it opened its doors to college residents and Boone locals alike.
This year, that story came to a close when they sold their establishment to the college bar chain Lil Rudy’s.
Once noted as a USA Today top-10 college bar in America, TApp was a staple in the Boone community for 15 years before it closed its doors. Starting as a small space for local music, food and drinks, it continued to expand its venue through Klondike Cafe.
Klondike stood for 30 years, originally opening in 1986, then selling its space to TApp in 2016. The venue played host to Boone legends like Doc Watson and a number of other bands throughout its years of operation.
TApp turned Klondike into The Annex in 2017 and used the area to host numerous live performances, drag nights and DJ sets.
The ever-evolving venue has shifted ownership once again to the bar-chain Lil Rudy’s, established in Dayton, Ohio. The chain, owned by Jody Skinner, started because of her love for college towns.
“We started our first kind of college-surrounded bar about four years ago and that was at the University of Dayton and loved it,” Skinner said. “We like being able to represent them and what they’re looking for in a bar and a social gathering.”
Skinner has been in the restaurant and bar industry for 35 years and started Lil Rudy’s as a way to connect students from different colleges and support up-and-coming entrepreneurs.
There are four total bars in the Lil Rudy’s chain, including Boone’s location, each at a different college town across the eastern United States. The chain is working toward putting up TV screens to display a live feed within each bar so patrons can experience other college towns without leaving their own.
“We adapt really well to each location we go to,” Brittany Sullivan, one of the partners of Lil Rudy’s, said. “I don’t feel like each Rudy’s is the same.”
Boone’s Lil Rudy’s Mountain Tapp launched its opening night on Jan. 31, 2025 and is continuing to host events, though it has yet to fully open its doors as it is still under renovation.
“There’s always pushback anywhere you go if you open something and people are not always in tune with change,” Sullivan said. “If people really have a passion about it, we’re in the right place. We’re in a place where they want to be, and we want to make it better for them.”
