ALTON - Hilltop Auction owner Josh Carroll drove past the vacant building, which would become Bottoms Up, every day and wished he could do something with it.
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Bottoms Up is located at 2204 Fosterburg Road in Alton.
Three weeks ago, he had the soft opening of the sports bar built from that long-vacant building. Carroll installed new flooring, added a few walls, built a backdoor patio beer garden and renovated a large stage. While Bottoms Up is open, Carroll said the progress he began is far from finished. He said he would continuously add to the place throughout its lifespan.
"This has always been something I've wanted," Carroll said of the building. "I think of myself as unique, I like different things. This place is nowhere close to being done. I will always want neater, cooler things. I never want to be the kind of person who has a place, where you can go down the road and find the same things."
One of the most unique aspects of Bottoms Up is the food. Carroll said all items on the menu are made fresh and are never frozen. That includes menu items such as pizzas, steaks, burgers, and wings. In fact, Bottoms Up is quickly garnering a reputation among Riverbend residents as a new hot spot for good wings.
Carroll said all the sauces used on the wings are concocted by chef Max Straubhaar, including the controversial "peanut butter jelly wings." The wings are made with peanut butter and jelly sauce, making them taste similar to high-end peanut chicken from upscale Chinese eateries.
"People are a little slow to order them, but once they get them, they always order them again," he said.
Other sauce flavors include Maple Bourbon, Maple Mustard, Barbecue and several others. 
Entertainment at Bottoms Up is centered around music on weekends. Carroll said he tries to have musical acts at least one night every weekend, be it Friday, Saturday or both, and has live music on the patio area (next to a cornhole arena) every Sunday afternoon.
Upcoming shows include country artists, Billy Hurst and Lane Higgins, on July 21 and 22 respectively.
On July 29, Carroll is hoping to host a grand opening celebration featuring music from Combo #4 and local country favorites, Borderline.
Another high profile Southern rock band, Soup, which features members of the Ozark Mountain Daredevils will play on Sept. 23, and country music star Bryan White will take the stage on Nov. 17. Tickets for the White show are $20 for the show, and $40 for a VIP pass, which includes a meet and greet and autographed poster.
In the future, Carroll said he hopes to continue adding to the establishment with more music, food, and maybe even drink specials. As of now, Carroll said he has instituted vodka lemonades on Sundays, which he said taste similar to lemon shake-ups one would get at the state or county fair.
"People did not like me that Monday," Carroll said with a laugh.
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