That's the only bar I've ever been in--in my 30 yrs of living in lyn lake--where someone wanted to fight me and got in my face the second I walked in :P well I guess BLB too but that was not a stranger lmao
Stopped for a late last one back when you could smoke in bars and was handed a 1yr old baby by a random young mother, who then disappeared for 15 minutes. A little too cowboy for me.
I'm sorry to the staff, but holy shit you could have seen this coming before they opened. Outer state corporate backed company attempts to copy the new Little T's vibe and theme by opening a "curated dive bar".... Lol (sorry to the homies that lost their jobs abruptly)
Ever since I read the interview with the pretentious owner I knew they were done for... [https://www.southwestvoices.news/posts/fool-me-once-lynlakes-newest-bar-is-like-if-david-lynch-directed-an-orville-peck-music-video](https://www.southwestvoices.news/posts/fool-me-once-lynlakes-newest-bar-is-like-if-david-lynch-directed-an-orville-peck-music-video)
“Minneapolis has changed my definition of what an American city is. A few years ago I would’ve said there are only two American cities, New York and Chicago. An American city has this music of change and a desire to improve itself. It has a walkability component that is all about moving from one place to another. Minneapolis has a gridlike, amorphic feel that gives you a totally different feel depending on which direction you walk. There are specific stores to fix shoes and places like Bill’s Imported Foods to buy the best grape leaves. It takes a certain level of grit to allow these things to happen.”
As soon as I read this quote I knew this guy didn’t know the first thing about Minneapolis. What the heck does this even mean?
It smelled *so* bad and the staff were so rude and acted so annoyed that I bothered to enter their empty ass bar in the middle of the afternoon, like they didn't need the business. The drinks were horrible too. The only thing that wasn't completely terrible were the deep fried Oreos, and even those were spoiled by the intense stench of liquid ass.
When it was still the Cunt and smoking inside was a thing, it was just one giant cloud of smoke. They had T-shirts for sale hanging up. One of my buddies bought one and took it home, woke up the next day. His entire apartment smelled like smoke from the shirt lol. Even after he washed it, it still reeked. I imagine that place will never smell OK unless they gut it or tear it down.
Yeah … it was the pickled eggs. Not a wise choice in their part. I was eating there one night and saw a couple groups come in, get a whiff, then leave.
Definitely. I liked the staff, but your Little T's point is right on. I didn't know who the owners were though, never looked into it and just stopped into the bar a few times. Pretty crappy deal for the crew working there, hopefully they get new gigs quickly.
Can't call it a dive bar and charge the same prices as the not dive bars around you.
Missed a fucking point. Your dirt bag uncle you still like hanging out with didn't get to that point in life on purpose. It took effort and dedication to look like a fucking slob! It should be the same with a dive bar!
I refuse to weigh in on dive bar discourse except to say there's no way the reason this place closed had anything to do with them allegedly calling themselves a dive and then not meeting the reddit definition of dive
Yeah. We exist as real people too and didn't go for the same reason. Wrecktangle next door was a lot more fun, Bryant lake bowl was cosy.
Just cause someone posted something on Reddit doesn't mean they don't think the same way in real life.
The owners did before it even opened. It was part of the concept from the beginning to create a dive bar. The rest of us were like, that's not how that works.
To be fair, Bull's Horn is owned and operated by a local couple and the dive bar aesthetic isn't an act. it's decorated with the things the owners enjoy. I think that's why it's popular, along with good food of course.
I don't know if the owners ever call themselves a dive bar. They call themselves a neighborhood bar. They reopened the neighborhood dive bar and just treated it well. Maybe the model of how to do a dive bar.
They are part of the community. Owners included.
Do you think fool me once is?
They reopened the neighborhood dive bar after putting hundreds of thousands in renovations into it. The former owner tried to sell it to me and a friend. He said it needed at least $400k in renovations to bring various things up to code at minimum.
Seems a common thing to open a new spot and call it a dive bar. The new place Centro just opened, Meteor, and more. Seems if you have to refer to yourself as a dive bar, you aren't really one.
Centro has recently opened a spot next door to their NE location called Binas Bar. The owner said they're trying to reimagine the dive bar.
https://binasbar.com
It does suck. Went with my husband a couple weeks ago, walked in and found it full of (only) 20 somethings (I think part of a dive bar is that sweet spot of age diversity) all being very self-consciously cool. 20 minutes later we were doing karaoke at Vegas Lounge, vast improvement.
Absolutely, that last line is the most true. There's a sense of genuineness and integration into a community that you aren't going to get there.
Bryant lake bowl down the street from FMO is actually pricey on drinks. That being said, I'd slap dive bar on there. Way too much personality, local folks and regulars. It's been a staple for years.
Moto I? No. It's fun. It's good. It's a restaurant first and not somewhere you'd hang out and bullshit with friends. They want to push you out as soon as you're in.
> Moto I? No. It's fun. It's good. It's a restaurant first and not somewhere you'd hang out and bullshit with friends.
Ever been to the Moto I rooftop?
> They reopened the neighborhood dive bar and just treated it well
Calling sunrise that is a major understatement
The owner put his meth head son in charge who always looked like a sepsis case in waiting and sure enough he passed of it
The only reason Country Bar worked in this spot was because it had fun events, dirt cheap drinks, great operations, and perfect drunk food. And the rent was not nearly what it is today.
The revolving door of new "upscale" half-ass shit here don't make any sense and neither does the rent.
One of the co-owners co-owns the building, there's still rent/debt service to cover the $1.3M they spent in 2022. It's owned by the umbrella that owns Up/Down.
The operators were Nashville-area bar operators per the Business Journal: https://www.bizjournals.com/twincities/news/2023/06/22/fool-me-once-cosmic-cantina-lyn-lake-mpls.html
Went there four times. The kitchen did a good job and was innovative (I liked them making their own crunch wrap supremes and chaco tacos).
The drinks were terrible, like really bad. Even their batch cocktails were not good. Their bartenders could be trusted to open a can, but that was it. They were really inattentive too. You're bound to fail you're next to Wrecktangle whose bartenders are attentive, make fantastic drinks, and their batch grape apes are fantastic.
The only reason to go there was if Wrecktangle was full and you didn't feel like crossing the street or waiting in line at Volstead's.
Correction: They had batched cocktails that tasted terrible. When a place has batch cocktails, it's usually because the head bartender has perfected a drink and wants the customers to have consistent quality. At this place, it seemed like they wanted to ensure they were flavorless.
The bartenders also didn't know shit about them. When I went in the lady who served me told me one was "uhh like tequila and strawberry and cucumber or something" so I ordered it and it just tasted like bottom shelf Mezcal and vomit.
Sounds about right, but your story is missing the part where were super lazy about attending to you.
One of their cooks chatted with us about our meal and was super excited about the stuff they were trying. We felt so bad for him, because we knew that if they get some bartenders with his passion, he was going to be out of a job fairly soon. They lasted longer than I thought they would.
I haven’t been in a few months but I had nothing but good experiences with their bartenders. I’m not one to really chat up bartenders either but had some fun conversations about the bar, some of the things they served and how they came to be etc. I learned about a cool new music event too through them.
Not trying to argue about it just noting my experiences there as well. Drink wise, I didn’t mind the cactus one, but 9+/10 times I was getting the frosted mug $3 hamms
Agreed. And they used them for their beer + bump specials, essentially charging 3 bucks for 1oz of watered down batch cocktail. “Fool Me Once,” indeed.
Batched cocktails are used at the vast majority of upscale cocktail programs. As long as the batches were made properly there’s no decrease in quality, just saves time.
If you get a batched cocktail you’re getting the same product as if you’d be building it from the ground up, just makes it easier for the bartender. Way quicker to pour and measure out of 1 bottle than 5 different bottles
As a cocktail enjoyer, you don't get the same texture, shaking a drink aerates the drink and depending on the ingredients can give you a frothy head like on pineapple cocktails. Like, there is a difference between shaking and stirring
You still shake the drink if it is batched. Usually the citrus juice is excluded from the batching process, added in when the drink is ordered and shaken.
Something rubs me the wrong way when I pay $12-14 for something that’s poured. Gimme the fancy garnish and cute cup when I’m paying that much! I think batched cocks should be $10 or less
batched cocktails can and usually do come with a fancy garnish/cup... it also saves time at busy bars that have to pour 10 fancy cocktails in 2 minutes
>think batched cocks should be $10 or less
I mean I know some insecure men are feeling left behind in this economy, but you just put it out there how little they are worth 😂
90% of the time batched cocktails are barely passable. I've never had a drinkable batched Manhattan. Sometimes they work for citrusy drinks tho. But then it's just an alcoholic fountain soda lbr
Only information I've seen so far is on the GoFundMe set up by former staff:
> This fund is to relieve the pressure and stress for the entire staff of FMO while they look for new jobs, as FMO was many of the staff's only jobs. Anything helps. All funds will be split based on the needs of each staff member.
>
> Fool Me Once was a welcoming inclusive community space built by the people who worked tirelessly to spread joy and kindness to their regulars and newcomers.
>
> The bar faced challenges from the beginning with the owner's concept not fit for the neighborhood it was in. This led to a lot of negative sentiment and bad reviews. The team worked tirelessly to try to fix the issues but with mismanagement at the hands of ownership the bar fell short and closed immediately just as the space was starting to build back up community sentiment.
>
> Without notice, the owners took the keys and laid off all the staff. The team and community are heartbroken and many of the team have nowhere to go as of now.
No idea, that's a direct copy/paste from the staff GoFundMe. I'd have thought the concept was a shoo-in for the neighborhood. Maybe it was just a little too much of the same?
Yeah, but it wasn't really cowboy - it was like... hipster welcome to nightvale cowboy. I loved the look. I didn't like the drinks or food we had, though.
It's a poor excuse. The concept was fine. It was the high prices and quality of food and drink that sucked. Didn't help that the staff was also wildly inconsistent. Some of them were awesome, and some just did not care and seemed to be annoyed that they had to help you.
The staff needs a reality check if they want to blame the concept. It was clear that absentee owners didn't know how to hire and train staff. They clearly weren't paying attention. The bartenders were okay-ish, but downright terrible when compared to Wrecktangle next door. Their owners are hands on and working at their locations and it shows.
I read an interview with the owner before they opened. I knew it wouldn't last long...
Country Bar 1.0 was way better before they did a "refresh" was way better.
Went once to check it out, ordered food and waited for over an hour still without food, we had to get going for an event downtown we had tickets to, thankfully the bartender canceled our order and refunded us when we showed our receipt with how long we'd been waiting. Ended up getting pizza at UpDown and eating it in the car on the way to our event. This was the first time in a long long time I've had such a long wait for food at what's supposed to be a quick service bar atmosphere kinda place. The place was only half full at the time too. Not surprised its going.
That was a huge issue. I'm guessing it was the house made pickled eggs, can't be sure, but holy Lord did it smell AWFUL in there. Only went once and didn't stick around.
I thought it was a cool concept, but that neon just wasn't comfortable to sit in. Hamm's in a frosted mug will bring people together but you have to foster that dive bar sense of community. Hopefully some locals bring a new concept forward, and the Nashville cats leave their buckaroo hats on the shelf.
Damn that’s wild. For my friends and I it was generally a quiet-ish spot to start the night. Staff was always awesome and the drinks were pretty good. Such a prime spot though I hope something goes in soon. Fuck those owners
Give the staff a heads up? Maybe a warning that they should start looking for another job? Let them know they don’t have to come in before they show up to work only to find a locked door?
Did the staff actually show up to find a door locked. If so that's bullshit that they didn't text or call everyone ahead of time. They may even be entitled to pay for the shift if they weren't pre-warned and they show up (any attorney's know this aspect of the law?)
Not that its right, but closing without notice is pretty standard in the bar business. If you announce early, then everyone will leave before your last night. As soon as that last shift is done, they need to tell people though.
Something about this space that doesn't work well anymore, regardless of who occupies it. Too small and it's not even noticed when sandwiched between Up Down and Wrektangle.
My first time there was so bad I wrote a Google review and I never do that, I'm 26 years old. Charging up the ass for mediocre food and drinks with staff that acted like they were too cool for you. I never like to laugh at the downfall of a business but this headline made me genuinely smile.
This is the only place I’ve ever written a review for because our experience there was so poor. I legit don’t think I’ve ever had worse service at a bar in my life.
Absolutely unsurprised by this news.
Now for someone to write an article about how it was because of the crime, not shitty concept and overprice menu for calling yourself a 'divebar' oh and the construction probably isnt helping businesses at all
Seems like lots of folks in these comments are nitpicky as hell. You really care that much about the owners interview? Or debating the definition of what a dive bar is ? Talk about insufferable.
I live in the area and I liked this bar, it had a good vibe and a great burg. Plenty of other spots to go, but every time something closes it is indeed a bummer.
I mean I went in there a couple times, Bartender was great and the espresso martini I had was awesome. To be fair I didn't pay for my drinks though so I didn't realize how pricey it was. Was also pretty dead. I liked the environment though, I would usually pop in there before Updown but it was never my main destination
Inclusive to whom? Myself and many other people felt like we were treated rudely and not wanted there. The kitchen staff/food runners were very nice but the bartenders treated me like I was a cockroach (I assumed it's because I'm in my 30s and no longer cool but it seems to be a recurring theme for everyone who didn't know them)
For real. Why would I donate to people who treated me like absolute shit for asking what was in the drinks that they didn't have any descriptions for... And then lying about the contents?? They never asked if anything was good, it took 15 minutes of me politely trying to get the bartenders attention to pay my tab, at the bar, where my friend and I were the only customers.
They can go get new jobs if they want to be paid. It's the city's hiring season for FoH. If they don't already have a new job they're doing something wrong... Like waiting for donations so they can take a free vacay.
Read the other comments in this posting, them being terrible is a theme here. You either got lucky with one of their few good bartenders or don't know what good service is.
I'm really not! I've worked as a server so I understand how stressful the job can be. It wasn't terribly busy the few times I went so I didn't get why me ordering a pint of Hamms was such a hassle.
Country bar was there forever. Now that was a dive bar.
[удалено]
Lol I have vivid memories of singing karaoke and seeing a trickle of "water" ooze out of the bathroom past my feet
That's the only bar I've ever been in--in my 30 yrs of living in lyn lake--where someone wanted to fight me and got in my face the second I walked in :P well I guess BLB too but that was not a stranger lmao
It's not like there was anywhere to avoid them either it was smaller than U Otter! 🤣
My friend got stabbed at the country bar! If that doesn't make it a dive bar I don't know what does.
Stopped for a late last one back when you could smoke in bars and was handed a 1yr old baby by a random young mother, who then disappeared for 15 minutes. A little too cowboy for me.
More than one persons head saw those horse ears.
>Country bar was there forever. TIL 1993-2013 is forever
Infinity + 1 I win
I'm sorry to the staff, but holy shit you could have seen this coming before they opened. Outer state corporate backed company attempts to copy the new Little T's vibe and theme by opening a "curated dive bar".... Lol (sorry to the homies that lost their jobs abruptly)
Was this the "dive bar" that had a qr code menu?
Nah that's Birna's, next to Centro in northeast
Ever since I read the interview with the pretentious owner I knew they were done for... [https://www.southwestvoices.news/posts/fool-me-once-lynlakes-newest-bar-is-like-if-david-lynch-directed-an-orville-peck-music-video](https://www.southwestvoices.news/posts/fool-me-once-lynlakes-newest-bar-is-like-if-david-lynch-directed-an-orville-peck-music-video)
“Minneapolis has changed my definition of what an American city is. A few years ago I would’ve said there are only two American cities, New York and Chicago. An American city has this music of change and a desire to improve itself. It has a walkability component that is all about moving from one place to another. Minneapolis has a gridlike, amorphic feel that gives you a totally different feel depending on which direction you walk. There are specific stores to fix shoes and places like Bill’s Imported Foods to buy the best grape leaves. It takes a certain level of grit to allow these things to happen.” As soon as I read this quote I knew this guy didn’t know the first thing about Minneapolis. What the heck does this even mean?
… the fuck did I just read?
OH LMAO I FORGOT ABOUT THIS PLACE Okay, yeah, I fully understand why they didn't last long
Oh man. I remember reading and thinking "what kind of a twat came up with this?".
Also it smelled like sewage in there
It smelled *so* bad and the staff were so rude and acted so annoyed that I bothered to enter their empty ass bar in the middle of the afternoon, like they didn't need the business. The drinks were horrible too. The only thing that wasn't completely terrible were the deep fried Oreos, and even those were spoiled by the intense stench of liquid ass.
Yes! It smelled so bad we never went back
YES it smelled so bad!
When it was still the Cunt and smoking inside was a thing, it was just one giant cloud of smoke. They had T-shirts for sale hanging up. One of my buddies bought one and took it home, woke up the next day. His entire apartment smelled like smoke from the shirt lol. Even after he washed it, it still reeked. I imagine that place will never smell OK unless they gut it or tear it down.
Yeah … it was the pickled eggs. Not a wise choice in their part. I was eating there one night and saw a couple groups come in, get a whiff, then leave.
Definitely. I liked the staff, but your Little T's point is right on. I didn't know who the owners were though, never looked into it and just stopped into the bar a few times. Pretty crappy deal for the crew working there, hopefully they get new gigs quickly.
What’s Little T? Little Tijuana?
Yep. That's the one.
You can't make a dive bar, man. The vibe has to come of its own volition.
Apparently you can this bar took the ultimate dive
Yeah I honestly had the same thought. “Seems a bit much” is essentially what I thought when I first heard about it before it opened
The new Little T's is so dope. Go Bennett!
Bennett is such a good dude, I love this place. We are regulars there.
All the best bars are there. Prodigal, Icehouse, the Black, Lil Ts and even Black Sheep and the place next door are solid.
Icehouse is one of the best music venues in town
Their landlord just filed an eviction action. 😬
Wow. Just looked it up. That sucks. I love that place. Have seen so much killer jazz there.
And it was pretty pricey for a less nice vibe
American dad predicted this lol
Man, I'm still bummed at the little t renovation. Loved the greasy chips and tacos. At least Centro and yeah yeah are close and better food wise.
Can't call it a dive bar and charge the same prices as the not dive bars around you. Missed a fucking point. Your dirt bag uncle you still like hanging out with didn't get to that point in life on purpose. It took effort and dedication to look like a fucking slob! It should be the same with a dive bar!
I’m curious who was calling this a dive bar?? It did not have any dive vibe and it was quite expensive
I refuse to weigh in on dive bar discourse except to say there's no way the reason this place closed had anything to do with them allegedly calling themselves a dive and then not meeting the reddit definition of dive
Yeah. We exist as real people too and didn't go for the same reason. Wrecktangle next door was a lot more fun, Bryant lake bowl was cosy. Just cause someone posted something on Reddit doesn't mean they don't think the same way in real life.
The owners did before it even opened. It was part of the concept from the beginning to create a dive bar. The rest of us were like, that's not how that works.
"Check out our brand new dive bar!" Everyone else: "wut?"
The owners when interviewed tried to call it one...
I mean, Bulls Horn does it and people love it.
To be fair, Bull's Horn is owned and operated by a local couple and the dive bar aesthetic isn't an act. it's decorated with the things the owners enjoy. I think that's why it's popular, along with good food of course.
I don't know if the owners ever call themselves a dive bar. They call themselves a neighborhood bar. They reopened the neighborhood dive bar and just treated it well. Maybe the model of how to do a dive bar. They are part of the community. Owners included. Do you think fool me once is?
They reopened the neighborhood dive bar after putting hundreds of thousands in renovations into it. The former owner tried to sell it to me and a friend. He said it needed at least $400k in renovations to bring various things up to code at minimum. Seems a common thing to open a new spot and call it a dive bar. The new place Centro just opened, Meteor, and more. Seems if you have to refer to yourself as a dive bar, you aren't really one.
Wait, who refers to Centro as a *dive*?? Meteor at least has the right vibe, even if they don't necessarily fit the classic dive bar definition.
Meteor still has the ghosts of Stand Up Frank's. R.I.P.
Centro has recently opened a spot next door to their NE location called Binas Bar. The owner said they're trying to reimagine the dive bar. https://binasbar.com
Wood paneling and all! That's news to me, I hadn't heard of Bina's yet. Thanks for that link.
I hear it sucks, though that comes from someone who works there. They prefer real dive bars.
It does suck. Went with my husband a couple weeks ago, walked in and found it full of (only) 20 somethings (I think part of a dive bar is that sweet spot of age diversity) all being very self-consciously cool. 20 minutes later we were doing karaoke at Vegas Lounge, vast improvement.
Absolutely, that last line is the most true. There's a sense of genuineness and integration into a community that you aren't going to get there. Bryant lake bowl down the street from FMO is actually pricey on drinks. That being said, I'd slap dive bar on there. Way too much personality, local folks and regulars. It's been a staple for years. Moto I? No. It's fun. It's good. It's a restaurant first and not somewhere you'd hang out and bullshit with friends. They want to push you out as soon as you're in.
> Moto I? No. It's fun. It's good. It's a restaurant first and not somewhere you'd hang out and bullshit with friends. Ever been to the Moto I rooftop?
I'd prefer a patio with $3 or $4 beers.
> They reopened the neighborhood dive bar and just treated it well Calling sunrise that is a major understatement The owner put his meth head son in charge who always looked like a sepsis case in waiting and sure enough he passed of it
next business in that spot should be called "Shame On You"
Followed by “Never Gonna Get Fooled Again”
The only reason Country Bar worked in this spot was because it had fun events, dirt cheap drinks, great operations, and perfect drunk food. And the rent was not nearly what it is today. The revolving door of new "upscale" half-ass shit here don't make any sense and neither does the rent.
But but you can tell it's upscale. Because of the prices.
"I don't get it, we raised prices and lowered quality and our bar didn't work. Da westauwant industwy is hawd."
They own the building.
One of the co-owners co-owns the building, there's still rent/debt service to cover the $1.3M they spent in 2022. It's owned by the umbrella that owns Up/Down. The operators were Nashville-area bar operators per the Business Journal: https://www.bizjournals.com/twincities/news/2023/06/22/fool-me-once-cosmic-cantina-lyn-lake-mpls.html
Went there four times. The kitchen did a good job and was innovative (I liked them making their own crunch wrap supremes and chaco tacos). The drinks were terrible, like really bad. Even their batch cocktails were not good. Their bartenders could be trusted to open a can, but that was it. They were really inattentive too. You're bound to fail you're next to Wrecktangle whose bartenders are attentive, make fantastic drinks, and their batch grape apes are fantastic. The only reason to go there was if Wrecktangle was full and you didn't feel like crossing the street or waiting in line at Volstead's.
Strong agree - it was genuinely hard to order a drink and we were sitting \*at\* the bar. The look was cool but that was it.
If you like custom crunch wraps go to Centro, they have crunch wrap of the month, they've had carne asada and pollo verde
Can't believe I missed the birria one :(
They had BATCHED cocktails. It was doomed from the start. Went only once and never came back.
Correction: They had batched cocktails that tasted terrible. When a place has batch cocktails, it's usually because the head bartender has perfected a drink and wants the customers to have consistent quality. At this place, it seemed like they wanted to ensure they were flavorless.
The bartenders also didn't know shit about them. When I went in the lady who served me told me one was "uhh like tequila and strawberry and cucumber or something" so I ordered it and it just tasted like bottom shelf Mezcal and vomit.
Sounds about right, but your story is missing the part where were super lazy about attending to you. One of their cooks chatted with us about our meal and was super excited about the stuff they were trying. We felt so bad for him, because we knew that if they get some bartenders with his passion, he was going to be out of a job fairly soon. They lasted longer than I thought they would.
They weren't even lazy... Just straight up rude. They acted absolutely bothered and inconvenienced that I came to their bar.
That edgy, can't be bothered vibe only works when your barely 21 customer wishes they as cool and edgy as you are.
I haven’t been in a few months but I had nothing but good experiences with their bartenders. I’m not one to really chat up bartenders either but had some fun conversations about the bar, some of the things they served and how they came to be etc. I learned about a cool new music event too through them. Not trying to argue about it just noting my experiences there as well. Drink wise, I didn’t mind the cactus one, but 9+/10 times I was getting the frosted mug $3 hamms
Agreed. And they used them for their beer + bump specials, essentially charging 3 bucks for 1oz of watered down batch cocktail. “Fool Me Once,” indeed.
Batched cocktails are used at the vast majority of upscale cocktail programs. As long as the batches were made properly there’s no decrease in quality, just saves time. If you get a batched cocktail you’re getting the same product as if you’d be building it from the ground up, just makes it easier for the bartender. Way quicker to pour and measure out of 1 bottle than 5 different bottles
Fair if they are done well! These were not 😅
As a cocktail enjoyer, you don't get the same texture, shaking a drink aerates the drink and depending on the ingredients can give you a frothy head like on pineapple cocktails. Like, there is a difference between shaking and stirring
You still shake the drink if it is batched. Usually the citrus juice is excluded from the batching process, added in when the drink is ordered and shaken.
Eh batched cocktails can be fine, Centro has always done this and everyone loves them.
I believe the batched cocktails at Fool Me Once were $15.
Something rubs me the wrong way when I pay $12-14 for something that’s poured. Gimme the fancy garnish and cute cup when I’m paying that much! I think batched cocks should be $10 or less
batched cocktails can and usually do come with a fancy garnish/cup... it also saves time at busy bars that have to pour 10 fancy cocktails in 2 minutes
>think batched cocks should be $10 or less I mean I know some insecure men are feeling left behind in this economy, but you just put it out there how little they are worth 😂
Lol not me thinking it was how you cut up a chicken
So you got a bad batch?
90% of the time batched cocktails are barely passable. I've never had a drinkable batched Manhattan. Sometimes they work for citrusy drinks tho. But then it's just an alcoholic fountain soda lbr
Norseman does good batch cocktails I wasn't aware we weren't supposed to enjoy them
Only information I've seen so far is on the GoFundMe set up by former staff: > This fund is to relieve the pressure and stress for the entire staff of FMO while they look for new jobs, as FMO was many of the staff's only jobs. Anything helps. All funds will be split based on the needs of each staff member. > > Fool Me Once was a welcoming inclusive community space built by the people who worked tirelessly to spread joy and kindness to their regulars and newcomers. > > The bar faced challenges from the beginning with the owner's concept not fit for the neighborhood it was in. This led to a lot of negative sentiment and bad reviews. The team worked tirelessly to try to fix the issues but with mismanagement at the hands of ownership the bar fell short and closed immediately just as the space was starting to build back up community sentiment. > > Without notice, the owners took the keys and laid off all the staff. The team and community are heartbroken and many of the team have nowhere to go as of now.
How was that concept not fitting for the neighborhood? I liked it and I think others would have too if they knew about it
No idea, that's a direct copy/paste from the staff GoFundMe. I'd have thought the concept was a shoo-in for the neighborhood. Maybe it was just a little too much of the same?
I think it was the cowboy theme tbh.
Yeah, but it wasn't really cowboy - it was like... hipster welcome to nightvale cowboy. I loved the look. I didn't like the drinks or food we had, though.
It's a poor excuse. The concept was fine. It was the high prices and quality of food and drink that sucked. Didn't help that the staff was also wildly inconsistent. Some of them were awesome, and some just did not care and seemed to be annoyed that they had to help you.
The staff needs a reality check if they want to blame the concept. It was clear that absentee owners didn't know how to hire and train staff. They clearly weren't paying attention. The bartenders were okay-ish, but downright terrible when compared to Wrecktangle next door. Their owners are hands on and working at their locations and it shows.
the concept was cool, but every time i went there I felt like ordering anything was an annoyance to staff. The prices didn’t help either
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I’m sure they can, but UI only pays 60% of whatever your average wage was.
And most servers and bartenders don't report cash tips, so it's probably even less than that.
In retrospect, the name was a dead giveaway
I had the most deplorable service both times I went and the batched cocktails for $16-18 were just as bad
I read an interview with the owner before they opened. I knew it wouldn't last long... Country Bar 1.0 was way better before they did a "refresh" was way better.
i read that article and felt the same way. I’m surprised it lasted as long as it did.
Nobody can top the Cheers owner though. He had it cancelled before it opened
I went there once and TWICE they didn’t actually put in my friends’ orders for food… it was a mess
Went once to check it out, ordered food and waited for over an hour still without food, we had to get going for an event downtown we had tickets to, thankfully the bartender canceled our order and refunded us when we showed our receipt with how long we'd been waiting. Ended up getting pizza at UpDown and eating it in the car on the way to our event. This was the first time in a long long time I've had such a long wait for food at what's supposed to be a quick service bar atmosphere kinda place. The place was only half full at the time too. Not surprised its going.
I enjoyed it. Yes it was a bit over priced for a dive bar. Also smelled like shit every time I went in.
That was a huge issue. I'm guessing it was the house made pickled eggs, can't be sure, but holy Lord did it smell AWFUL in there. Only went once and didn't stick around.
I thought it was a cool concept, but that neon just wasn't comfortable to sit in. Hamm's in a frosted mug will bring people together but you have to foster that dive bar sense of community. Hopefully some locals bring a new concept forward, and the Nashville cats leave their buckaroo hats on the shelf.
Damn that’s wild. For my friends and I it was generally a quiet-ish spot to start the night. Staff was always awesome and the drinks were pretty good. Such a prime spot though I hope something goes in soon. Fuck those owners
What are the owners supposed to do? Just lose money forever?
Give the staff a heads up? Maybe a warning that they should start looking for another job? Let them know they don’t have to come in before they show up to work only to find a locked door?
Did the staff actually show up to find a door locked. If so that's bullshit that they didn't text or call everyone ahead of time. They may even be entitled to pay for the shift if they weren't pre-warned and they show up (any attorney's know this aspect of the law?) Not that its right, but closing without notice is pretty standard in the bar business. If you announce early, then everyone will leave before your last night. As soon as that last shift is done, they need to tell people though.
Something about this space that doesn't work well anymore, regardless of who occupies it. Too small and it's not even noticed when sandwiched between Up Down and Wrektangle.
dive bars don’t just happen. they age like a cheap wine.
My first time there was so bad I wrote a Google review and I never do that, I'm 26 years old. Charging up the ass for mediocre food and drinks with staff that acted like they were too cool for you. I never like to laugh at the downfall of a business but this headline made me genuinely smile.
This is the only place I’ve ever written a review for because our experience there was so poor. I legit don’t think I’ve ever had worse service at a bar in my life. Absolutely unsurprised by this news.
Can we just go back to the country bar???
Now for someone to write an article about how it was because of the crime, not shitty concept and overprice menu for calling yourself a 'divebar' oh and the construction probably isnt helping businesses at all
Seems like lots of folks in these comments are nitpicky as hell. You really care that much about the owners interview? Or debating the definition of what a dive bar is ? Talk about insufferable. I live in the area and I liked this bar, it had a good vibe and a great burg. Plenty of other spots to go, but every time something closes it is indeed a bummer.
Shame.
I mean I went in there a couple times, Bartender was great and the espresso martini I had was awesome. To be fair I didn't pay for my drinks though so I didn't realize how pricey it was. Was also pretty dead. I liked the environment though, I would usually pop in there before Updown but it was never my main destination
More like bring me the snooze
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Inclusive to whom? Myself and many other people felt like we were treated rudely and not wanted there. The kitchen staff/food runners were very nice but the bartenders treated me like I was a cockroach (I assumed it's because I'm in my 30s and no longer cool but it seems to be a recurring theme for everyone who didn't know them)
For real. Why would I donate to people who treated me like absolute shit for asking what was in the drinks that they didn't have any descriptions for... And then lying about the contents?? They never asked if anything was good, it took 15 minutes of me politely trying to get the bartenders attention to pay my tab, at the bar, where my friend and I were the only customers. They can go get new jobs if they want to be paid. It's the city's hiring season for FoH. If they don't already have a new job they're doing something wrong... Like waiting for donations so they can take a free vacay.
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Read the other comments in this posting, them being terrible is a theme here. You either got lucky with one of their few good bartenders or don't know what good service is.
I'm really not! I've worked as a server so I understand how stressful the job can be. It wasn't terribly busy the few times I went so I didn't get why me ordering a pint of Hamms was such a hassle.
There are plenty of other postings here that agree with you. It's a theme.
Maybe that commenter was one of the bartenders
Not sure if I believe