Shug’s sweeps the streets in Brooklyn Square
Published 12:00 am Sunday, February 15, 2026
SALISBURY — Shug’s at Brooklyn South Square has been taking care of more than just its block, sweeping the entirety of Lee Street and down Monroe Street.
Since August 2024, Shug’s Owner Tiffany Day has cleaned the block around the bar with the help of employees and volunteers. She had been picking up trash in front of Shug’s for a while, but it was not until 2024 that she officially adopted the street from the City of Salisbury.
“I felt like it was a good thing to do for the community, and I also felt like it was a good way to encourage people to come out to help their community,” Day said. “Litter is one of the things I can’t stand.”
The group clad in reflective vests and carrying white plastic bags grabbed trash and debris from the side of the road with plastic grabbers. The city provides all of these items when an organization or individual signs up to Adopt a Street. When the group is done, they can leave the bags on the side of the road for the city to pick up.
Once a month, a group gathers from Shug’s to clean up Lee Street from East Innes Street to Monroe Street and then also from the train tracks on Monroe to the stop sign headed toward South Main Street.
The project has attracted both regular patrons from Shug’s to help and also people that Day says only show up for these clean ups, with some even taking the initiative to clean before Day gets there or when she cannot make a cleaning day.
“Julia Pone. She’s just been amazing with Adopt a Street,” Day said. “She comes no matter what. Sometimes I’ll come, and she’ll be coming up and be like, ‘I just got Monroe,’ and I’ll be like ‘what? You already got?’”
Through the year and a half that the group has been cleaning, Day thinks there has been a noticeable improvement on the cleanliness of the street. With construction off Lee Street and regular traffic on Monroe, there is usually enough to pick up, but the quantity and quality of the garbage has improved.
“I feel like it’s gotten better. I definitely don’t think it’s gotten worse. Every once in a while, there’ll be one that will be like ‘wow, that’s a lot,’ but most of the time, it’s been alright,” Day said.
At this point, Day doesn’t have any intention of stopping cleaning the street after the two-year contract with the city is up.
“I’m sure I’ll keep doing it. I can’t not do it,” Day said.