LOUISVILLE MAGAZINE 7.15 23
WE
L
OVE
d
Photo
by
Tiffany
Monyham
Most stories about Magic, the black
cat who lived at the Nachbar, involve
his penchant for scratching people after
they petted him. "He could be cuddly
for a second, until he was done with
you," says Shannon Kinsman, who found
Magic as a kitten eight years ago, in Old
Louisville, and brought him along when
she moved to Charles Street near the
bar. When she and her husband walked
to the Nachbar, Magic followed. "At
frst they tried to shoo him out, but he
would just come right back in the back
door," Kinsman says. Eventually, Magic
adopted the bar as his full-time home.
He ruled over the place, lounging on the
bar and stools and drinking water from
the bathroom sink. "The bartenders
started warning people: 'If Magic's
sitting in a chair, you probably don't
want to move him,'" Kinsman says. "One
time, somebody moved him and he got
mad and he just walked across the bar
and knocked their beer over."
Magic died in May after some bad
injuries from what was most likely a
run-in with a car. After the news broke,
people started posting memorials on
the Nachbar's Facebook page: "Magic
literally saved my life once by refusing
to get off the hood of my car when I
wanted to drive home when I clearly
shouldn't have"; "When I was a single
gal, roaming the streets of Germantown
alone after visiting (the Nachbar), Magic
would walk me all the way to my door a
few blocks away and then immediately
attempt to bite me if I showed any type
of gratitude or affection."
Rest in peace, Magic. Hopefully they
serve good beer wherever you are.
— Amy Talbott
eclipse.com
eatsuperchefs.com