Cam Newton Buys Historic Atlanta Bar As His Hopes Of Returning To NFL Seemingly Dwindle

Cam Newton's playing days may not be over, but his chances of returning to the NFL are starting to dwindle. In the meantime, he is pursuing other ventures.

Newton, 33, signed with the Panthers late last season after an injury to Sam Darnold. He finished the year in Carolina, starting in five of the eight games he played, but went 0-5 and has been a free agent ever since.

To take advantage of his downtime, Newton has been traveling the country to watch his younger brother Caylin finish his collegiate career. He was in the stands at William & Mary earlier this year, showed up a few weeks later and was casually kicking it in the student section, and traveled to Towson last weekend after making a stop at Howard University to turn up at Homecoming.

A few days before heading to his brother's game Saturday, the former NFL MVP added another business venture to his portfolio.

Cam Newton bought a bar.

Over the course of the last three years, Elliott Street Deli and Pub in the Castleberry Hill district of Atlanta has been on and off the market. It sold last week to Newton, who was born, raised and lives in the ATL.

The bar, which opened in 2004, has become one of area's most iconic dive bars, in large part because of the building. It dates back to about 1870.

Prior to the bar's opening, the carriage house sat vacant for two full decades and needed serious TLC. The roof had caved in, three feet of water stood stagnant in the basement, and fire damage needed to be repaired.

Brothers Mike and Pete Jakob, who were formerly general contractors, purchased the dilapidated building, put in the work, and turned it into what it is today.

“We purchased the building because it was out in the middle of nowhere. It was going to be our shop where we could make a lot of noise late at night. We build cars, we run saws, we’re pretty loud. It’s next to the fire station, and we figured, we can’t be louder than those guys!”

Since then, Elliott Street Pub has grown into a staple, serving deli-style sandwiches, standard mixed drinks, a few beers on draft and PBR tallboys. It's exactly what it says it is and the walls of the bar are covered in dollar bills that have been hung by regulars, musicians, athletes, celebrities and sports fans alike. It's the perfect dive bar.

However, the Pub sits not too far from Mercedes-Benz Stadium, right in the heart of major redevelopment projects. As a result, locals and historians were worried that the building would be purchased and torn down.

Newton has reportedly promised not to do so. Instead, he plans to turn it into a speakeasy, located not too far from the cigar bar that he and his brother opened a few years back.