Reader feedback: What makes a good bar?

One of my favorite readers sent a response to my “Why don’t some bars have regular crowds?/Your drink prices are too high” post from a couple of days back. She made some excellent comments, so I asked for and received permission to post her e-mail here.

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Your question about what bar owners can do to create a regular Downtown clientele was interesting to me. I have a few suggestions from my viewpoint:

1. Any bartender who remembers my name really gets my attention
2. Any bartender who remembers my favorite drink gets double my attention (Pearl’s, The Big Foot, E&H, Westy’s)
3. Any bar which goes the extra mile to fix a SIMPLE drink, like a Bloody Mary, gets extra points (i.e. extra good drink mix ~ like The Big Foot (on occasion even hand-made); extra garnishes (olives, okra on a stick, celery, or the best, again at Pearl’s, a shrimp perched on the corner of the glass. Salt around the rim of the glass, or powdered sugar on the rim of a Wedding Cake Marguerita, pure heaven! It’s all in the presentation. And some bars don’t even wipe off the counter when you sit down.
4. Bar snacks are greatly appreciated; don’t have to be fancy; it’s the thought that counts.
5. A hook under the bar for my purse; such a little thing, but so nice to get those big clunky purses out of the way and feel they are SECURE.
6. Clean and attractive restrooms. Need I say more? Oh, yes, someone, ANYONE on staff whose duty it is to regularly (every 45 minutes at least) check the restrooms and fix whatever is not right, esp. on busy weekends. (Sawaddi was always nice)
7. A bar which carries ALL the sports channels, and bartenders who actually know what the Big Games of the Day are.
8. Female bartenders who actually LIKE female customers and don’t ignore them in their zeal to wait on guys. Yes, this can be an irritating problem Downtown. (the Saucer can be bad about this, and SleepOut Louie’s was horrendous about ignoring women and catering to guys)
9. Bartenders who help make single women and small groups of women feel secure and safe (Majestic, Automatic Slims).
10. Bars who keep panhandlers out and away from the doors. (****** at E&H is a master at this.)
11. Great food goes without saying, but great food LATE at night is the best. (Westy’s, Big Foot)
12. Friendliness, whether I am having a Coke or a $12 lambic.
13. ATTENTIVE bartenders. I cannot tell you how many times I will sit with an empty glass for thirty minutes or more and cannot get the attention of the bartender when I am right under their nose at the bar. That just drives me crazy!
14. Having the chef come out and ask you how your food is (EP’s), and having the bartender ask if your drink is okay. An owner who actually is present in the bar and talks to the customers.

WOW, I had no idea I had so many preferences! This is kind of more what I think a good bar should be like instead of HOW TO ATTRACT A REGULAR CROWD. But I guess that it is the same thing, basically.

To sum it up, I guess I would just describe it as a feeling of belonging that either comes quickly or doesn’t, feeling appreciated, catered to, actually liked by a friendly staff who seem to like their job and people.

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(This is Paul again) Great feedback, thanks. I’m tempted to make a comment about attentiveness, and how I’ve noticed attentiveness among servers and bartenders dropping off at several places Downtown the past few months, and there’s a reason for it that fits in the palm of your hand… nah, I’ll save it for a later post.