New lounge submerges patrons in Pepperland.Byline: Lewis Taylor The Register-Guard Unless you consider freshly painted murals, a video game lounge and hand-crafted beers to be a sign of urban decay For the cosmetics company, see . Urban decay is a process by which a city, or a part of a city, falls into a state of disrepair. It is characterized by depopulation, property abandonment, high unemployment, fragmented families, political disenfranchisement, crime, and , Eugene's latest dive bar is no "dive" at all. The Dive Bar & Grill is restaurateur res·tau·ra·teur also res·tau·ran·teur n. The manager or owner of a restaurant. [French, from restaurer, to restore; see restaurant. Mike West's newest project - and the latest venue to enter an increasingly crowded field of very different night- spots along downtown's Broadway axis. The club, which boasts a Beatles' "Yellow Submarine" theme, is located at 844 Olive St., in the former West Bros BROS Brothers BROS Benefits and Retirement Operations Section (King County, Washington) BROS Barnes and Richmond Operatic Society (London, UK) . BBQ BBQ barbecue site. It is scheduled to open Thursday after a ribbon-cutting ceremony by Eugene Mayor Jim Torrey. "We talked about what to do in this space," West says. "The neighborhood in the last two years has actually grown and changed. It hasn't sat fallow fallow a pale cream, light fawn, or pale yellow coat color in dogs. . `I look around me and see where the neighborhood is headed." While daytime retailers haven't exactly flocked to downtown since Broadway reopened to traffic, nighttime entertainment spots seem to be holding their own. John Henry's, Cafe Paradiso, the Horsehead and Luckey's Club Cigar Store Luckey’s Club Cigar Store was purchased in 1911 by Tad Luckey, Sr., the son of Irish immigrants and an early Eugene pioneer. It is the oldest retail business in downtown Eugene, and one of the oldest bars in Oregon. all operate within a beer bottle's throw of one another. The presence of these venues, combined with West's new bar and grill and other nearby nightclubs - Luna, the McDonald Theatre, the Samurai Duck, Cozmic Pizza, the WOW Hall, to name a few - suggests that Eugene may be seeing the beginnings of a downtown entertainment hub. "If you look at other cities like Portland and Austin, there's downtown nightlife - somewhere you can park your car and have a bunch of different options," said Keith Martin Keith P. Martin, PC, MP, BSc, MD (born April 13, 1960, in London, UK) is a Canadian physician and politician. He is the Liberal Member of Parliament for the riding of Esquimalt—Juan de Fuca. Martin was first elected in 1993 as a member of the Reform Party of Canada. , booking agent Noun 1. booking agent - someone who engages a person or company for performances booker agent - a representative who acts on behalf of other persons or organizations impresario, promoter, showman - a sponsor who books and stages public entertainments and co-owner of John Henry's. He says he's encouraged by the opening of the Dive Bar & Grill. "I think it's good to have more options downtown. ... I think (downtown) could conceivably become a nice nighttime place where there's some place to come for everybody." West, too, hopes to see not just his club, but all of the downtown venues prosper. He hopes to have a complementary relationship with the other venues around him, and plans to create a niche for himself by offering a full kitchen that stays opens late. West will serve a mix of traditional bar food, barbecue and international dishes. The bar, which is inspired by the 1968 animated film "Yellow Submarine," is decorated with Beatles imagery such as the evil Blue Meanies A Meanie is a small stuffed animal made by Topkat LLC, starting in 1997 and lasting until 2000. A Meanie is a type of bean bag in the form of a stuffed animal toy. Beanie Fad and the words "all you need is love." Don't expect Paul or Ringo to be playing the Dive Bar anytime soon. You might, however, see some other artists performing in the club, which boasts a rented sound system. The Dive Bar plans to host a jazz jam, a blues jam and an open mike night, and probably will play host to touring acts and local artists. The venue also hopes to cater to younger musicians with under-21 music jams in the early part of the evening. Perhaps the most unusual aspect of West's bar is the basement X-Box Lounge, a hangout for video game enthusiasts who appreciate a single-malt scotch as much as they do the latest version of the John Madden NFL Madden NFL is an American football video game series developed by Electronic Arts Tiburon for EA Sports. The game is named after Pro Football Hall of Famer John Madden, a well-known color commentator for NBC Sports and formerly a successful Super Bowl-winning coach during game. The lounge will host video game tournaments and feature a networked system with a DSL connection DSL connection n (Comput) → DSL-Anschluss m that will allow gamers to battle other players across the bar - or on the other side of the world. In addition to offering games, West hopes to show movies, TV shows and occasional sporting events in his down- stairs lounge. He didn't say whether "Yellow Submarine" would be among those films. And speaking of the Beatles, West admits he didn't exactly get written permission to use the bubbling submarine, the flying boot and other Beatles imagery on the walls of his restau- rant. Still, based on the number of times the images have already been duplicated, he's fairly confident he's not going to be getting a call from John Lennon's widow anytime soon. "I doubt Yoko (cares)," West says. "She's pretty self- involved. ... `Now if we were talking Disney (characters), I'd be scared." Lewis Taylor can be reached at 338-2512 or ltaylor@guardnet.com. NEW NIGHTSPOT Mike West's latest venture offers food, drink and entertainment in colorful surroundings What: The Dive Bar & Grill Where: 844 Olive St., in the former West Bros. BBQ space CAPTION(S): Mike West heads downstairs at his Dive Bar & Grill, where patrons can play each other on networked video games See video game console. . |
|
||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion