A little about the man
behind The Gin:
My name is J.D.
Groover. I’m 28 and I’m from a little town called Kingsland, GA that resides in
Camden County, GA. I went to school at Valdosta State University. Worked at the
famous Flip Flops! That’s where i learned the business and my love of music
grew. A typical day for me is always different. Different days bring up
different things. I do more than unlock a door though!!
T H E G I N
Location:
Tifton || Georgia
When did your venue
open and how did it come to happen?
I opened The Gin in
March of 2010. It was my first business venture on its own. I noticed while
living in Valdosta, Ga that a lot of people from Tifton, Ga would drive 45
minutes down to party. I knew there was a college there called ABAC and it
always amused me they would drive. The thought hit that they must not have
anywhere to go or anything to do. I took a scouting trip up here and that was
very evident that it was a sleepy little town. I knew if 100 people were
driving every weekend 45 mins to party that there were way more who didn’t want
to drive, so I came to them!
Describe your
venue/bar in three words.
We have a saying “ The
Gin always Wins” so “It always wins” This place can take down professional
drinkers. Ask Cole Taylor. hahaha
You have been labeled
the number one nightlife establishment in South Georgia. What sets your venue
apart from others?
I think it’s a couple of things. We have grown as the town has grown.
Some people come in drop a lot of money and flop in the bar business. We
catered and grew. I always say Tifton and I grew together. Haha. In this part
of the state no one offers the entertainment or can throw a party consistently
like we do. We take pride in our service to our customers. Also, ask anyone who
has played my venue we take care of them. My job is to not only keeping
customers happy but also staff and entertainers. You keep the entertainers
happy they wanna come back again and again and give it their all!
Big names in country
music like Florida Georgia Line, Sam Hunt, Chase Rice, and Cole Swindell have
graced the stages of The Gin. How did you build relationships with them and
attract them to Tifton?
This is one of the
questions i get all the time! Our track record is unbelievable and
i work hard
at it. I do listen to some mainstream people but i try to stay ahead of the
curve. We took a chance on FGL. Paid them 700 dollars and then two weeks later
Cruise is on the radio. The following Friday, Parmalee. Then it seemed like
everyone on XM radio thought we were a good luck charm. I work hard. I study
hard and sometimes i get lucky. Now with Cole, me and him go back for years so
that was an easy one. He actually played my place a couple time’s acoustic just
to get out of Nashville before he was big. I wish i could list all the people,
but it would take forever!
What moment in the time
you’ve been open has been your favorite?
It’s really hard to
choose. For a while, I would have told you that it was the 2 year anniversary
party. There was a guy in the bar that told me when we first got open that we
have a cool place but it wouldn’t last 3 months and I kinda got drunk on the
mic and told that story and popped a bottle of champagne. But now its when
artist from XM come and already know me and know the gin and tell me they
wanted to play here for awhile and they respect my reputation in Nashville.
Gives me Chills.
Busiest night/largest
crowd?
Hands Down Feb 15th
2014. Sam Hunt. A lot went to pushing that show. He was still a “nobody” but I
seen it coming. I had seen it October 2013. I pushed that show like no other
and it took off and so did he.
With the calendar year coming to a close, what can
we expect fro 2015 from The Gin?
Man we have a lot in
store. Old Dominon. Adam Sanders. Dylan Scott. Canaan Smith. Chris Lane. Joey
Hyde. John King. Ricky Young. And a few of the usual suspects Cole Taylor. Jon
Langston, Jordan Rager, Travis Denning, Highway 55, Ray Fulcher and many many
more! Make sure to follow us on twitter and instagram at @thegintifton and on
Facebook at GIN TIFTON!
C O N N E C T