Jon's post today at Hackbend.com about possibly creating a Brewpub in the old Movietyme location on Greenwood and 8th has somehow given my gray matter a swift kick in its imaginary arse.

As I commented: *Another* brew pub? Bleh. Come on, Jon. Does Bend really need that?

However - what Bend *does* need is a cool, hip place for young people (20-30-somethings) to hang out. The Martini Bar, Astro and Grove are all too damn loud and overcrowded and pretentious.

I want a place where I can casually taste/swig some fine drink (preferably whiskey) and maybe even wine. :) Ya know - kick back in old overstuffed chairs or hang out on plastic bar stools, maybe with a nice library of comic books and a few sweet pool tables. And the decor has to be slightly off-kilt, but always hip. Maybe something celtic/goth, with a geek twist.

Something quiet, warm, cozy, and utterly comfortable. But also something where the occasional death-metal or jazz band can play, and you can let your hair completely down. No smoking, no kids, no grays, no food.

Pondering this a bit further, it occured to me that I was probably inspired by the most awesome hang-out I've been to in a long time: Spike's Vampire Bar at Burning Man.

One has to note here that it wasn't just glorious because it was located at Burning Man - rather, it was quite simply comfortable (the dome shape helped to keep it cozy), campy (with its cheap plastic chairs), and gothic (the decor included large fabric pieces with celtic knots on the walls, and crude coffins as "coffee tables") Oh, and yes, the stripper pole in the middle of the bar helped too... But - it was the atmosphere in there that really pulled it all together. And it didn't just attract tattooed goth and freaks with fangs (although there were indeed a fair share there) - it was the mixture of people that made the place really cool and hip.

So that's what I really want, really hunger for, here in Bend. A campy, cool, slightly shabby, hip place with games and music and good, cheap booze.

Is that really too much to ask for?

Yes. It is too much to ask for.

Cheap booze in trendy Bend is not going to happen anytime soon. The rent is too high.

I remember the Evil Sister Saloon (then Volcano Reds, now a dinner theatre?) which went under fairly quickly. It might do great now because there are so many more potential customers, but back then, $1 PBR pints wouldn't pay the overhead which was probably 1/4 of what they have to pay now.

How about just decking out your garage with Garage Sale items, some funky paint, a stripper pole and some cheap plastic chairs?

Oh shit, before I read Kina's comment there, I was just thinking, "Evil Sister Saloon"! That's too funny...

Actually, Evil Sister probably wasn't quite what Simone had in mind, but it was a step in that direction.

But yeah, garage it up a la Harp Hall (which will be the subject of a future Hack Bend post and sadly is not open anymore).

I like the garage idea, guys (although what you're describing, Keeneye, already exists in Bend - it's called "Starz" ... ;).

Alas - last time I checked, my garage definitely would not fit a pool table, a bar, a death metal band, a stripper pole, *and* a dance floor. Oh, yeah - *and* a bunch of people.

Ya know - I would be happy with a funky, out-of-the-way place *somewhere* in Bend. Wouldn't have to be anywhere near downtown even, so the rent could be kept low.

Actually, come to think - the Domino Room kinda had the right vibe last time I was there, and the walls were painted black already. Do they still have those pool tables upstairs too, I wonder? Now we just need to get better decor, cheaper drinks and the proper crowd in there ... hmmmm...

Oh, and one more thing: the place I'm envisioning wouldn't necessarily be for-profit. Run by a vibrant group of youngish people, whose nightlife goals converge here, the club could function on a similar principle my European friend has going on.

Ergo - the drink prices could be kept low, and the responsibility to keep the place going would shift from a top-down management-type structure to a socialistic commune-style.

A non-profit bar? Is that even remotely possible?

Why wouldn't it be?

I just can't think of alcohol and non-profit being in the same sentence, and don't know of one, do you?

I guess seeing it work just fine at that place my Euro friend helps to manage has convinced me that, yes, indeed, alcohol and non-profit can live side-by-side in peace and happiness.

And come to think: when I was a teen in Switzerland, I used to go to peer-run discos and youth hang-outs all the time where they would serve cheap drinks. The prices were designed to really just cover the costs. And I don't recall there being any real abuse either - not from kids getting totally smashed, nor from the teen managers stealing money or anything.

But maybe the real problem here is the fucked-up relationship the U.S. has to alcohol - with teens and in general. And the distrust most American parents show towards their children.

I know *my* parents never wasted much time worrying about me going to those hang-outs. They were generally really safe places (often open throughout the day and littered with pool tables and other game opportunities), and at least my parents knew *where I was*.

I suppose you could compare it to a Boys and Girls club - with booze available (in the pm only). All's I have to say - it worked just fine.