Casey’s Toledo carries a history that reaches from West Toledo to Portland, Oregon, and back again. The story includes two Portland nightclubs, more than three decades of LGBTQ+ history in Toledo, and the memory of Kermit Nies, whose life connected the two cities.
Today, Casey’s is located at 5534 Secor Road in Toledo, Ohio, near the Secor and Laskey area. Before becoming Casey’s Toledo, the bar operated as R House, which opened in 1995 and served Toledo’s LGBTQ+ community for more than two decades. In 2018, R House became Casey’s, bringing a familiar Portland name home to Toledo.
Why Was It Named Casey’s?
According to the family and business history preserved by Casey’s ownership and the Nies family, the name Casey’s was chosen in memory of Kermit Nies.
Kermit’s story connected Toledo and Portland long before the first Casey’s nightclub opened. Family history places him in West Toledo near Harvest Lane and Laskey Road. He later lived in Portland while attending Reed College.
Kermit died in 1991. Publicly available records concerning his life are limited. However, a contemporaneous 1991 press-photo caption documents that Kermit was 20 years old and that his father, Ray Nies, was in Portland searching for him in October of that year. A later Toledo obituary identifies Kermit as the grandson of Lucie Nies and identifies Raymond Nies as her son.
The personal story behind the name is an important part of Casey’s Toledo history. Casey’s was not simply a name selected for a nightclub. It was a way to remember someone whose life had ties to both Toledo and Portland.
Casey’s Opens at 610 Northwest Couch Street
The first Portland Casey’s opened in the spring of 2007 at 610 Northwest Couch Street, in Portland’s Old Town neighborhood.
Before the opening, owner Karl Wilgus described the planned business as a broad, all-inclusive club. Contemporary reporting said Casey’s occupied the former Lush nightclub space and included two levels, with an underground bar and dance area.
Archived LGBTQ+ publications described Casey’s at 610 Northwest Couch as an inclusive nightclub and lounge. The establishment became part of a growing concentration of LGBTQ+ nightlife in Portland’s Old Town district during the late 2000s.
Unlike bars that catered to only one part of the community, Casey’s was intended to welcome a broad mixture of guests. That inclusive philosophy would eventually become part of Casey’s Toledo as well.
Casey’s and Portland’s Old Town Nightlife
The original Portland location had a different atmosphere from the neighborhood-bar setting that people now associate with Casey’s Toledo.
The Northwest Couch Street building offered an upstairs gathering area and a downstairs dance floor. Archived coverage described dancing, entertainment and late-night crowds, while emphasizing that Casey’s welcomed people from throughout Portland’s LGBTQ+ community.
Business and liquor-license records continued to list Casey’s at 610 Northwest Couch Street through at least 2013.
Moving to 412 Southwest Fourth Avenue
Between 2013 and 2015, Casey’s left its original Northwest Couch Street location and moved to 412 Southwest Fourth Avenue in downtown Portland.
By June 2015, local publications were describing the Southwest Fourth Avenue establishment as the new Casey’s and distinguishing it from the older Northwest Portland location. Another contemporary account described Casey’s as having recently relocated to the downtown address.
The new location offered a somewhat different experience. Contemporary descriptions mentioned a patio, arcade games, an upstairs area and a lively downtown crowd. The business remained part of Portland’s LGBTQ+ nightlife while continuing the inclusive identity established at the original location.
The former Portland Casey’s at 412 Southwest Fourth Avenue has since closed.
The Connection Between Casey’s Portland and R House Toledo
While Casey’s operated in Portland, Karl Wilgus also owned R House in Toledo.
R House had opened at 5534 Secor Road in 1995. It became known as a friendly Toledo LGBTQ+ bar where customers could meet friends, enjoy entertainment and feel comfortable being themselves.
A 2016 Toledo City Paper article identified Wilgus as the owner of both R House in Toledo and Casey’s in Portland. The article described R House as a welcoming neighborhood establishment with the familiar atmosphere of a place where regular customers knew one another.
This shared ownership created a direct connection between the Portland Casey’s and the Toledo bar years before the Casey’s name was introduced in Toledo.
R House Becomes Casey’s Toledo
In 2018, R House was renamed Casey’s.
The change brought the Casey’s name—and the story associated with Kermit Nies—from Portland back to Toledo. It also joined two chapters of the business’s history: the neighborhood tradition established by R House and the inclusive philosophy associated with Casey’s in Portland.
Although the name changed, the Toledo establishment continued serving the community from the same Secor Road location. Casey’s Toledo remains rooted in Toledo’s LGBTQ+ history while welcoming customers of every background.
Casey’s Toledo Today
Today, Casey’s Toledo is a neighborhood bar and kitchen offering food, drinks, happy hour specials, live entertainment and community events.
Its identity has continued to evolve. Casey’s remains proud of its LGBTQ+ roots, but it is also a neighborhood gathering place for friends, local residents, University of Toledo students, service-industry workers and visitors looking for a welcoming Toledo bar and grill.
The current Casey’s is different from the large Portland nightclub that once operated beneath the streets of Old Town. Nevertheless, the businesses share an important principle: people should be able to walk through the door, feel welcome and find a place where they belong.
That sense of welcome connects every chapter of Casey’s Toledo history.
Casey’s History Timeline
1991
According to Nies family history, Kermit Nies died in 1991. His life and his connection to Toledo and Portland later became part of the story behind the Casey’s name.
1995
R House opened at 5534 Secor Road in Toledo and began serving Toledo’s LGBTQ+ community.
Spring 2007
Casey’s opened at 610 Northwest Couch Street in Portland’s Old Town neighborhood.
2007–2013
Casey’s operated as an inclusive nightclub and lounge at the Northwest Couch Street location. Records continued to list the business at that address through at least 2013.
By 2015
Casey’s had relocated to 412 Southwest Fourth Avenue in downtown Portland.
2018
R House became Casey’s Toledo, bringing the Casey’s name back to the city where Kermit Nies had once lived.
Today
Casey’s Toledo continues operating at 5534 Secor Road as an LGBTQ+-rooted neighborhood bar and kitchen that welcomes everyone.
Frequently Asked Questions About Casey’s History
Where was the original Casey’s in Portland?
The original Portland Casey’s opened at 610 Northwest Couch Street in Portland’s Old Town neighborhood in 2007. The club included an upstairs area and an underground bar and dance floor.
Where did Casey’s move in Portland?
By 2015, Casey’s had moved to 412 Southwest Fourth Avenue in downtown Portland.
Why is Casey’s Toledo named Casey’s?
According to the oral history preserved by Casey’s ownership and the Nies family, the establishment was named in memory of Kermit Nies, whose life connected Toledo and Portland.
What was Casey’s Toledo called before 2018?
The Toledo establishment was called R House from 1995 until it became Casey’s in 2018.
Is Casey’s Toledo connected to the Portland Casey’s?
Yes. Karl Wilgus owned R House in Toledo while also operating Casey’s in Portland. In 2018, the Toledo bar adopted the Casey’s name.
Preserving the History
This history combines contemporary news coverage, archived LGBTQ+ publications, business records and memories preserved by Casey’s ownership and the Nies family.
Some of the personal history involving Kermit Nies—including his Toledo residence, Reed College attendance and the complete circumstances surrounding his death—is not currently documented in easily accessible online archives. Those details are presented as family and business history and may be expanded as photographs, newspaper articles, school records and other historical materials become available.
Casey’s welcomes photographs, advertisements, event flyers and personal memories connected with R House, Casey’s Portland or Casey’s Toledo. Together, these materials can help preserve an important part of LGBTQ+ history in both Toledo and Portland.
Casey’s Toledo is owned by Safari Investments and is also listed on PrideOnTheWestside.com as a sponsor, TrilbyOhio.com as an original business and on HappyHourBars.net. All three of those sites are projects of Safari Investments.