BELTON, Texas — American Legion Post 55 is back in full swing after the COVID-19 nearly shut them down in 2020.
Post Commander Kyle Bailey found a new way to make it more cost effective in order to stay open and continue to service veterans.
Instead of a bingo hall, American Legion Post 55 is being converted into a private bar and club.
Post 55 is over 100 years old. In 2020 when COVID-19 hit, Texas bingo halls were restricted to 50% capacity. Charitable bingo was how the post made most of the money to fund its programs for both veterans’ programs and the Belton community.
Once COVID mandates were lifted it would have cost $20,000 to get bingo up and running again. So, to have some sort of income coming in, there was a vote to turn the post into a bar and club.
It took seven months to get the license, but there is hope veterans and the community can come out to pack the building.
“Just a lot of issues we had before we could open up,” said Bailey. “Now that we are open, we just want to get the word out that we are here. We are back open for fun so we can give back to the community."
The new club will have pool tables, a big spacious dance floor, a kitchen to be able to serve food, and even host Tijuana nights.
The big grand reopening is on Saturday May 14th.
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