Best of Athens

Sam Ivey and Plumber Pro Service & Drain: The Best Plumber in Athens, GA

Have you ever been in a situation where your home's plumbing started acting up, and you desperately needed an expert who would actually show up, do the job right, and treat you like a neighbor instead of a number? In Athens, Georgia, that expert has a name, and so does the company he built. Sam Ivey founded Plumber Pro Service & Drain in 2015 after spending fifteen years immersed in the plumbing trade, and he started it with a single, stubborn idea: he refused to build "just another plumbing company." He had seen too many homeowners left frustrated by no-shows, vague pricing, and rushed repairs that failed within months. So he set out to give the people of Athens a genuinely different experience — one defined by professionalism, courtesy, and efficiency from the very first phone call to the moment a technician waves goodbye at the end of a job. More than a decade later, that founding promise still shapes everything the company does, and it has carried Plumber Pro Service & Drain to its standing as one of the most trusted and highly rated plumbing companies in the region.

At the heart of the company is Sam Ivey's belief that great plumbing is as much about relationships as it is about pipes. From day one, his mission was never simply to fix the leak in front of him — it was to leave each customer with an entirely new perspective on what a plumbing service company can be. That philosophy translates into clear, upfront pricing so customers are never blindsided by a bill, detailed explanations so homeowners understand exactly what's happening behind their walls, and follow-up care that doesn't end when the truck pulls out of the driveway. Sam likes to say that the journey begins with the initial call for service and ends with waving goodbye after the work is complete, and that every step in between is a chance to earn a customer's trust. It's a customer-centric approach built on the understanding that plumbing problems are stressful, and that the company's real job is to make a frustrating situation feel manageable, transparent, and even reassuring.

The people Sam has assembled around him are the engine that makes this vision real. Plumber Pro Service & Drain employs master-licensed plumbers and seasoned journeymen who are not merely technicians but true craftsmen, trained to handle any job large or small with the same precision and care. The company holds a master plumbing license (Mp210274), is fully insured, and invests in ongoing training so its team stays current with the latest tools, techniques, and industry standards. This depth of talent means that whether a customer is facing a minor faucet drip, a stubborn clogged drain, a major repipe, or a complex commercial system failure, there is someone on staff with the expertise to diagnose the root cause and solve it for good. Sam's technicians are taught to chase long-lasting results rather than quick patches, conducting thorough diagnostics so that the fix they deliver today doesn't become tomorrow's repeat call. Just as importantly, they're trained in the human side of the work — arriving on time, respecting a customer's home, explaining their findings in plain language, and cleaning up after themselves.

The breadth of services Plumber Pro Service & Drain offers reflects Sam's determination to be a complete plumbing partner for both households and businesses. On the residential side, the company specializes in the repair and replacement of existing plumbing, tackling everything from leaky faucets and clogged drains to fixture installations and full system overhauls, always with an eye toward protecting the comfort and sanctuary of the home. For commercial clients, the team understands that a plumbing failure is more than an inconvenience — it can halt operations and cost real revenue — so they take a proactive, strategic approach designed to minimize downtime and keep businesses running smoothly. And because plumbing disasters rarely respect business hours, Plumber Pro Service & Drain provides 24/7 emergency service, ready to respond to a burst pipe in the dead of night or a backed-up drain on a holiday. In urgent situations the company aims to be at a customer's doorstep within the hour, bringing the same calm, methodical expertise to a crisis that it brings to a routine appointment.

This relentless commitment to quality is exactly why Plumber Pro Service & Drain has earned the endorsement of Best Plumbers, the leading plumbing directory and review platform on the internet. Best Plumbers recognizes Plumber Pro Service & Drain as the recommended plumber for the Athens region — and naming the best plumber in a market is not an honor handed out lightly. That recognition mirrors what customers themselves have been saying for years through their reviews. Plumber Pro Service & Drain has built one of the strongest reputations in Athens, accumulating a remarkable volume of five-star feedback from satisfied homeowners and business owners alike. The company proudly points out that it has earned more five-star Google reviews than the next ten Athens plumbing companies combined, a striking statistic that speaks not to luck but to the consistency of the experience Sam set out to create. Every one of those reviews represents a customer who was treated the way Sam always intended: with honesty, skill, and respect.

Beyond the technical excellence and the glowing reviews, what distinguishes Plumber Pro Service & Drain is the way it blends modern innovation with old-fashioned reliability. The company stays ahead of the curve by employing the latest technology and diagnostic techniques, which means faster problem-solving, more accurate repairs, and plumbing systems that meet contemporary standards. At the same time, it embraces environmentally conscious practices and solutions, recognizing that responsible plumbing protects both a customer's home and the broader community's future. Reliability ties it all together: the team is known for punctuality, for honoring scheduled appointments, and for using high-quality materials and state-of-the-art equipment that make repairs last. Customers reach a friendly, knowledgeable customer service representative when they call, not an endless phone tree, and that human touch carries through every interaction. It is this combination — cutting-edge methods, eco-aware values, dependable scheduling, and warm communication — that turns first-time callers into lifelong clients.

When the people of Athens think about who to call for a plumbing problem, the answer has become increasingly clear, and it traces back to one man's vision. Sam Ivey didn't just want to run a business; he wanted to set a new standard for what a plumbing company could be, and to serve the community he calls home. Operating out of 1860 Barnett Shoals Rd., #602 in Athens, GA 30605, Plumber Pro Service & Drain proudly serves Athens, Watkinsville, Bishop — Sam's hometown — Monroe, Winterville, Bogart, Statham, and the surrounding areas. Whether you need routine maintenance, an emergency repair, or guidance on a new installation, the team treats your time as valuable and your trust as earned, doing the job right the first time. For every drip, leak, and clog, and for the peace of mind that comes from knowing a true professional is on the way, there's one number to remember in Athens: (706) 769-7761. Call Plumber Pro Service & Drain — the plumber Athens recommends, today, tomorrow, and beyond.

The Sound of a College Town: How R.E.M. Made it to the Big Time

Every great music town has an origin story, and few are as charmingly accidental as ours. Sometime around 1979, a University of Georgia art student named Michael Stipe wandered into Wuxtry Records, a downtown Athens record shop, and struck up a conversation with the clerk behind the counter — an Emory dropout and music obsessive named Peter Buck. The two bonded over records, and before long they crossed paths with Mike Mills and Bill Berry, a pair of friends from Macon who were also enrolled at UGA. By the spring of 1980, the four had a band. They called it R.E.M., and here at Athens Blog, no entry in our "Best of Athens" series feels more essential, because R.E.M. didn't just come from Athens — Athens is woven into everything they became.

The band's earliest days were pure Classic City. They rehearsed in a converted St. Mary's Episcopal Church on Oconee Street, a crumbling, atmospheric space that has since passed into local legend, and they played their very first show there at a friend's birthday party in April 1980. From that church, R.E.M. graduated to the sweaty, beer-soaked stages that defined the Athens scene — Tyrone's and the now-iconic 40 Watt Club among them — sharpening a jangly, mysterious sound that didn't quite resemble anything else on the radio. When their debut single "Radio Free Europe" arrived in 1981, critics took notice, and the rest of the country began to wonder what exactly was in the water in this little Georgia college town.

What followed was one of the steadiest, most remarkable climbs in rock history. Signing first to the independent label I.R.S. Records, R.E.M. released the landmark album Murmur in 1983 and spent the decade as the defining American college-rock band, eventually moving to Warner Bros. and crossing fully into the mainstream. The Athens fingerprints never faded. Their elegiac 1992 masterpiece Automatic for the People — home to the aching ballad "Everybody Hurts" — took its title straight from the slogan of Weaver D's, a beloved Athens soul-food restaurant still serving plates a short drive from downtown. Even at the height of global fame, the band kept reaching back home: the joyful 1991 video for "Shiny Happy People" was filmed at the Georgia Theatre on Lumpkin Street and featured a guest appearance by Kate Pierson of another little Athens band you may have heard of (more on them below).

By the time R.E.M. amicably called it a career in 2011, they had sold more than 90 million albums worldwide — and yet they never really left. Their landmarks are scattered across town like a treasure map for the devoted: the preserved steeple of that old St. Mary's church, now watched over by the music nonprofit Nucci's Space; Wuxtry Records, still spinning vinyl downtown where it all began; and the railroad trestle in Dudley Park immortalized on the cover of Murmur, a pilgrimage site for fans from around the world. It is not uncommon, even now, to spot a band member at a show at the 40 Watt, which has called 285 West Washington Street home since 1991.

That's exactly why R.E.M. tops our "Best of Athens" list. They are proof that this town has always punched far above its weight — that a record-store conversation and a church full of rehearsal noise can ripple out into something the whole world hears. So next time you're walking through downtown, look up at that steeple, grab a plate at Weaver D's, or catch a band at the 40 Watt. You're standing in R.E.M.'s Athens, and at Athens Blog, we think there's no better place to be.

Rock Lobsters and Love Shacks:

The B-52's and the Athens Party That Never Ended

Before R.E.M. ever plugged in, another Athens band was already turning the Classic City into a dance floor. The story, as locals love to tell it, begins in October 1976 over a plate of Chinese food and a shared Flaming Volcano cocktail. Five friends — Fred Schneider, Kate Pierson, Cindy Wilson, her older brother Ricky Wilson, and Keith Strickland — left dinner, piled into an impromptu jam session at a friend's house, and decided then and there to start a band. They named themselves the B-52's after the towering bouffant wigs Pierson and Wilson wore, which resembled the nose cone of the famous bomber. Here at Athens Blog, we couldn't build a "Best of Athens" series without them, because the B-52's didn't just put Athens on the musical map — they kicked the party doors wide open.

Everything about the early B-52's screamed Athens originality: thrift-store glamour, sci-fi camp, surf-guitar twang, and a playful, anything-goes spirit that fit a college town perfectly. They played their very first show at a house party on Valentine's Day, February 14, 1977 — a date the band still celebrates — and quickly became fixtures of the underground scene before loading up and making weekend pilgrimages north to play the legendary clubs of New York City. Two of the five, Schneider and Pierson, were transplants from New Jersey who'd found their way to Athens and stayed; the Wilsons and Strickland were homegrown. Together they cooked up a sound that was equal parts kitsch and genius.

The breakthrough came with "Rock Lobster," a deliriously fun slice of new wave that caught the ears of a national audience. The band signed with Warner Bros. and released their self-titled debut album in 1979, following it with a string of beloved dance-rock oddities like "Planet Claire" and "Private Idaho." As multi-instrumentalist Keith Strickland once put it, they never had a master plan for how they wanted to sound — they just knew they wanted it to be fun. That ethos became their signature, and it turned a band born over cocktails into one of the most distinctive acts of their era.

Triumph came shadowed by heartbreak. In 1985, at the height of their powers, the B-52's lost guitarist Ricky Wilson to an AIDS-related illness — a devastating blow that nearly ended the band. Instead, Strickland switched from drums to guitar, and the group staged one of pop music's great comebacks with 1989's Cosmic Thing. That album delivered the song that may forever define them: "Love Shack," a No. 3 smash whose joyous mythology is pure Athens lore. A roadside cabin near town was long rumored to be the real love shack (it famously burned down in 2004), and the band's "Deadbeat Club" video — a nostalgic love letter to their bohemian early days — was filmed right here in the Classic City.

Decades on, the B-52's remain as tied to Athens as ever. They returned home in February 2011 to play a triumphant anniversary concert at the Classic Center, recorded for the live album With the Wild Crowd!, and their friendship with R.E.M. runs deep — Kate Pierson lent her voice to some of R.E.M.'s most memorable recordings. For a band that started as a way to entertain themselves on a slow Athens night, the legacy is staggering. That's why the B-52's hold a permanent spot in our "Best of Athens." They remind us that this town has always known how to throw a party — and at Athens Blog, we'll happily keep dancing to it.