Bill Jerry, owner of The Mouse Trap, says he came to Columbia from Scranton, Pennsylvania, to play football for Coach Marvin Bass (picture on wall) at USC in 1956. The Mouse Trap isn’t your usual casual dining establishment. For one thing, you’ll need a GPS unit or a friend who is in–the–know just to find it. Tucked away from the traffic of Forest Drive in Middleburg Office Park, the journey there is more like a trip to see your tax accountant than an evening out.

“We really don't advertise,” said Elizabeth Jerry who owns the Mouse Trap with her husband, Bill. “People learn about it from word of mouth.”

It’s not quite the place where everyone knows your name. Although if someone doesn’t know your name, it’s likely the person you’re having dinner with does, and he probably took your sister to a formal at Carolina sometime in the ’60s. Regulars gather to discuss old times, new grandchildren, and complain about the recent cold snap.

Elizabeth Jerry, owner, packs “The Trap” with her home cooking. “You run into people you know,” Lydia Clary said. “It’s casual and fun. It’s a bar where I don’t run into my children’s friends.”

Clary and her husband, Chip, were among the Mouse Trap’s first clients when Bill and then business partner Jack Maynard opened it 32 years ago. There a core group of long–time customers who enjoy the laid–back atmosphere that allows them to walk in at 6 pm on a Friday night and rearrange the tables to suit their party size. There is nothing formal about the Mouse Trap where the décor is home kitchen cozy, and no one seems to mind if a picture or two is a little crooked or if you sometimes have to wait a little bit for a waitress.

Alex Graham, one of the oldest and loyal customer s of The Mouse Trap, eats lunch Monday, January 11. Most weeknights Elizabeth can be found in a flour–dusted apron cooking up the Mouse Trap’s Southern country cooking like fried fish and hamburger steak. During the early days she volunteered to whip up a batch of chicken salad and has been in the kitchen ever since. According to Elizabeth, they have some customers who come in every day to enjoy her cuisine.

The Mouse Trap — known as “The Trap” by insiders — has close ties with Gamecock football. A group of former players – young and old – gathers there on Wednesday and Friday nights for a drink and some pigskin conversation. During football season, they project all the games on a big screen TV. Most of the wall art is framed photographs related to Gamecock football. Bill was a football player at USC in the late ’50s, under Coach Marvin Bass, which is when he met his wife. “We had English class together,” she recalled. “The professor wanted me to sit by him and help get him through English!”

The Trap is only open Monday through Friday, but when its doors are unlocked in the evening live music can usually be heard. Singer and guitarist Marion Brown has been playing there off and on for the last 20 years, many times with Trap legend Sweet Thang Eddie Brown – who continued to play and sing there until two and a half years ago when he developed throat cancer. “Up until that time I’m proud to say that I played The Trap many, many times with Eddie over the last 20 years or so,” Brown said. “Eddie and I, for about the last five of those years, played at The Trap once each month on the middle Friday night of each month. We (he) always packed the place, and Bill Jerry was always glad to have him there.” Some other Trap musicians include pianist Johnny McCullough, guitarist/ bassist/singer named Larry Welch, and husband and wife team Fred and Bunny Jones.

While most any musician relishes the chance to play, Brown finds something special about The Trap beyond just making a little cash. “It's a place where you always see not only familiar faces, but friendly faces,” he said.