What ever happened to bars?

The title reminds me of a bad Jerry Seinfeld opening line.

 

Washington has/had a law that any place that served hard alcohol had to have at least 5 "meals" on the menu. Stuff like burgers, pizza, tacos didn't count. There's club in my town that is the gay bar/most popular dance club in town, and they don't serve food. Except for the 5 different Hungry Man dinners in the freezer that are available. For (IIRC) $25. Keeps the LCB happy.

I worked at a music venue here in town, and we had a real nice Woodstone oven, and made nice pizzas, served salads, and other light side dishes. This didn't make LCB happy, so we stuffed 5 different types of Banquet frozen dinners in the freezer. Got 'em on sale for $1. Had 'em available for $15. Wonder why we never sold any?

 

Thank you. It was genuine and heartfelt. It was the nice confluence of happenstance and good fortune. What makes it best is that it is so damned true. I live just nearby Lindley Park and see people that I've known all of my life. Poets, mandolin geniuses, idiots of most descriptions and really very nice people. I love this place! It's like a tiny Paris.

 

Bars with food. What a profitable concept.

 

NC is an ABC state while it is posable to have just a bar without serving food in order to serve alcohol the bar must either be a private club or have a full kitchen and serve food, x amount of food sales to alcohol sales. According to VA there is not a bar in the state, only restaurants and breweries that sell alcohol and or beer. The governor of VA tried to do away with the ALE but was shot down....

why a state feels it needs to waste money on a separate entity just to regulate booze is hard to understand. What a waste of tax payers money.

 

http://ure.uncg.edu/magazine/2012_summer/feature_robertwatson_rel.htm

Here's an update. This place was awesome.

 

The "booze only" places have all gone out of business because they didn't realize that people like to eat food. Food keeps people in your establishment for way longer and you also make money on the food. I tend to avoid bars/breweries that do not serve food(I'm looking at you, Dragonmead) because I like the whole drinking and eating experience. While this is not the case for everyone, I think the majority of people prefer to have some kind of food offering available. I do not intend to sound like John Taffer, sorry if I do.

 

Back in my younger years we found a bar in a small town outside of where i lived that would actually server liquor on Sundays (Louisiana used to have some weird laws). The catch was they were a private club. About 6 of us rolled in and we were informed that they were a private club and we had to join before serving us. I said ok, so they pulled out a notebook and told us to write our name and our birthday in the book. I asked what the cost was and was informed it was a free drink. Needless to say we were there about every Sunday, the most eclectic group of people (farmers, farm workers, college kids, alcoholics.. you name it). The great thing about it was that every Sunday they cooked up something and had it in a warmer in the corner (chili, jambalaya,gumbo..) you just went and got something when you wanted it. I just checked and I'll be damned it is still there, JJ's Dancehall Lounge

 

Not for mixed drinks but the vibe you're looking for can be found at many of the brewery tasting rooms that have opened around Virginia in the last several years. Many have constant or occasional food trucks but it is about the beer, not food. My local in Charlottesville, Champion Brewing, has a great atmosphere similar to you what you describe.

 

You live in Virginia. That transition took place about 1968 with the introduction of some new regulations by the Virginia ABC. There are even numerical targets that have to be satisfied in terms of the amount of food sales relative to the amount of alcohol sales.

 

We still have bars in Florida that don't have food.

 

^^ This plus Michigan banned smoking indoors in public so the booze only places died.

 

There are bars everywhere

 

Truth. Especially in the small towns. Not atypical to stroll into a town that has something like 6 bars and only one gas station.

 

I don't know if you're serious or sarcastic. Either way, you're entitled to you opinion, and your expression of your opinion.

My opinion is this: I want a bar. Dark. Smoky. Cheap. The bartender was hired for skills and speed rather than mammalian protuberances. It's slow enough that the skilled bartender can keep me topped off without asking. It's busy enough that I can have some good conversation. And, for the LOVE OF GOD, PLEASE, NO TELEVISIONS!

If anyone opens that place in Austin, Round Rock, or Cedar Park, please let me know. When I lived in Chicago, I knew of dozens of those places and was a regular at 3. In Texas, I rarely go to a bar.

 

Up here in Canada weve got everything from high end bars serving martinis and other cocktails to taverns that just serve macros to brew pubs who make their money selling 500 - 600 different beers from all over the world. The problem with them is a tavern sells a Budweiser for 5$ plus a tip... so you can imagine the places selling crafts and imports. A glass of duvel is over 10$

 

We have plenty of alcohol only bars in Illinois (I'm not counting bagged snacks like chips, pretzels etc). But in recent years I have seen a number of them upgrade the appearance of the establishment with sports themes and add finger foods like wings and burgers. They are simply responding to current trends and try to grab their share of the pie.

 

Here in SC, it's just weird. A lot of nice brewpubs and breweries that are beer only. Some have food trucks sometimes, some don't. Almost all let you bring in your own food.