Calamity J is back, but then again, it never really went anywhere; it’s just under new ownership. 

Huntington natives Mark Muth and Mel Cummings as well as Mark’s wife Michelle Muth, have officially taken on the restaurant as their own, and some customers may recognize them. 

“I currently own and operate the Jockey Club, which is a high-end cocktail lounge downtown on Fourth Avenue across from the Keith Albee,” Mark said. “I have service industry experience. … we just do high-end cocktails and very little food.”

Why step into the restaurant business? 

“I think it was an opportunity for us to take the next step,” Muth said. “I said we’ve been running, my wife and I, the Jockey Club and its service industry. This might be the next logical step, just something to do.”

All three owners have ventured into many aspects of the business world, Muth said, and that, he believes, is what makes their trio work so well. 

“My wife is currently the director of the Marshall Rec Center,” he said. “I do work there also as a personal trainer, and Mel is into commercial property.”

Muth said customers can expect a few changes on the horizon – especially sports fans. 

“So, we’re gearing up right now to maybe put out the Sunday Ticket, which is Sunday NFL,” he said. “Every Sunday, we can broadcast every game. It’s a big deal. I think only two other places in downtown have it: Roosters and Marshall Café.”

Muth added he understands Huntington culture.

“It’s a tight-knit group,” he said. “It’s a tight-knit community. Marshall holds Huntington together.”

General manager Aaron Pennington previously worked at the Jockey Club for Muth and has made the switch with him. 

“So, whenever I first moved back home two and a half years ago from Orlando, I had gotten the opportunity to meet them, and I actually became their cocktail director at the Jockey Club as well,” he said. 

Pennington previously worked in the restaurant business at Walt Disney World.

“I worked at Walt Disney World, opened up all four Starbucks in all four parks, opened up a restaurant in the France Pavilion in Epcot,” he said.

Pennington said the Calamity J team is in community-building mode. 

“I looked at Mark the other day, and I said, ‘I feel like we’re Nick Fury, and we’re building our Avengers,’ but it’s great,” he said. “And we get to build an awesome team, and I think that’s it.”

Pennington, a self-proclaimed ‘90s kid, said he fondly remembers the original Calamity Café of his childhood.

“I grew up with the original Calamity Café, and so being able to come back and instill that original kind of vibe and culture into this place means a lot to me,” he said.

Holly Belmont can be contacted at [email protected].