Robby's

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It’s July 1984, and baseball’s Don Robinson is relaxing at Robby’s,
 his soon-to-open night club in downtown Huntington.

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HUNTINGTON -- Lots of young boys dream of becoming a major league ballplayer.
Don Robinson, known to family and friends as "Donnie," saw that dream come true.

A star athlete at Ceredo-Kenova High School, Robinson was signed by the
Pittsburgh Pirates right out of high school. Debuting with the Pirates in
 1978, he pitched nine-plus seasons with the Pirates, then went on
 to play for the Giants, Angels and Phillies, retiring in 1992.

But Robinson had a dream other than playing major league ball.

"It's always been my ambition to have a bar," he told Herald-Dispatch reporter
 Mara Rose as he sat in his soon-to-open night spot in downtown Huntington.

Robby's, his namesake night club, opened at 809 3rd Ave. in July 1984.
Four months of construction work and an investment of nearly $500,000
 turned the former Super Bee store into a sprawling club with a
seating capacity for more than 250, two enormous bars
 and a dance floor that was 22 square feet.

The club was designed by Huntington architect Roy Skarl
and built by Structures Inc. of Barboursville.

"I wanted it to be like nothing people around here had ever seen before,"
 Robinson said. "This is where I grew up. I thought it would help to get
downtown Huntington going again. This is a prime location."

Robby's closed in 1995. Today, the building houses The Market,
an open-concept restaurant and retail complex.

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Note:  This Article and picture appeared in the Herald-Dispatch Newspaper on June 11, 2019.

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