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March 21, 2024

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Spring Housing Guide

Who’s on tap

 

 

Troy Chamberlain and Matt Liasse

Pulse Reporter, Pulse Editor

Whether it’s a shot of hard liquor, an ice cold beer, a dancefloor or a mosh pit that you are aiming for, there are plenty of options down the road from campus. Below, find a complete guide to many of the bars in downtown Bowling Green.

Howard’s Club H

Past the bar’s two-door entrance is the venue’s bar side with a long elaborate mural depicting humans drinking amongst beasts on the southernmost wall — lizards and canaries, among others. The bar’s focus is on its live music, mostly to local up-and-coming acts, and the vibe inside sends a message of nothing more than rock ‘n’ roll, plain and simple. Doors and ceiling-support posts are generously adorned with band, belief and radio station stickers. Customer-crafted etchings and drawings, some dating back to the ’70s, give personality to the bar tops and worn-in picnic table seating. The names of struggling young bands now forgotten endure on the surfaces on which they were written; who knows when.

Howard’s owner, Jim Gavarone, boasted his establishment as the last venue of its kind in town, calling it a “man’s bar” where “you won’t feel out of place, won’t feel underdressed or overdressed” saying, “it’s probably the most laid-back bar in town.

Howard’s is open seven days a week, 365 days a year — Christmas included — and hosts live music Wednesday through Saturday, with an open-mic “Loud and Local Wednesdays” each week. The bar is 18-and-up, unless otherwise specified, and covers vary from show to show. “Loud and Local Wednesdays” are always free-of-charge.

Kamikaze’s

One of the first bars a student will run into when going downtown is Kamikaze’s, located on East Wooster Street. The small space leaves people to be crammed closer, which is perfect if you’re just looking for a place to dance. The music is loud and the bar space is limited, so don’t forget your dancing shoes.

Cla-Zel

A large vintage-style movie theater marquis on the West side of Main Street, North of Wooster Street, shapes the front of the Cla-Zel, immediately offering it a prestigious appearance unmatched by any other club in town. Past its front doors await bouncers dressed in formal attire, with red velvet ropes strewn around the entrance area before the second set of doors leading to the inside.

Owner Ammar Muffleh described his venue as the “classiest bar in Bowling Green” with the “best sound and light system, biggest dance floor and 50 beers on tap.”

“BG has a lot of bars, but we are really the only place that tends to have a very classy layout and atmosphere,” he said. “We basically do it bigger and better.”

The Cla-Zel is 18-and-over unless all-ages for a concert. It is open Wednesday through Saturday and will begin celebrating its two-year anniversary next week with a “365 Special” starting that Wednesday. The special offers three $3 42-ounce draughts, $6 32-ounce featured mixed drinks and three flavored “bombs” can be bought for $5 a trio.

Nate and Wally’s Fish Bowl

This bar is less for those looking to dance and more for those 21-year-olds looking to drink. The bar has plenty of drink specials, including $2 pints on Monday nights and $4 pitchers of Miller Light and $3 pitchers of Natural Light on Tuesdays, according to the bar’s Facebook page.

Reverend’s

This is the only bar that stands to rival the Cla-Zel for the title of classiest bar in town, but its considerably smaller size will likely keep it just below the mark. Owner Griffin Jones described his bar as having a “clean, modern look,” mentioning its exposed-brick walls and gold-flaked black bar top. Taps of different beers pass through the establishment to provide decoration, along with ironic religious symbols and artistic, framed photographs of fire-and-brimstone warnings to repent scribed on weathered wood in desolate settings. The vibe in the bar is not anything near to actually being religious, but its theological décor offers some interesting shots-for-thought.

Jones described the crowd in his bar as being “completely unique,” having guests of nearly all ages and cited drink specials, draught beer selection and great food as its biggest draw. He is most proud of the bar’s new non-menu item dinner entrees unveiled each weekend, prepared by a chef, and its mojitos, he said, are the most popular concoctions.  

Popular specials at Reverend’s include its “Dollar-Everything” deal on Thursdays, where nearly all drinks fathomable are $1 to purchase all night, with the payment of a $5 cover at the door for guys, $3for girls. Friday nights offer $4 well mixed-drink pitchers all evening.

City Tap/Attic

The split-personality bar City Tap/Attic is located on the East side of Wooster Street (North of Main Street) and its dual-atmosphere setup allows it to appeal to a very diverse crowd of customers. The street-level City Tap draws community members of all ages for its restaurant offerings during the day, shifting over to a predominantly younger crowd for evenings; though manager Eric Pelham said some veterans do linger around after the sun has said its goodbyes.

The 21-and-over “Tap,” as it is more concisely known, places its greatest focus on the 34-draught-beer selection and conversational sampling of new brews to hit its hoses. Behind the bar, to the right upon entry, is a large menu displaying the prices and names of all the draughts available, with “new” stickers placed on all recent arrivals. Pelham said the Tap cycled 120 beers through its ranks in its first year of business alone. A drink menu is issued four times annually, with 24 recipes guaranteed available at the time the menu is current. The other 10 taps are left open for a more rapid circulation of draughts to keep things fresh and adventurous.

“It’s a good opportunity for people to try something new they wouldn’t try anywhere else,” Pelham said. “We take a lot of pride in our beer.”

The Attic’s large outdoor balcony overlooking the Main Street-Wooster Street intersection is possibly its greatest appeal, particularly during the warmer months, according to Pelham.

“There’s really not another place like that, where you’re elevated and you get a nice view over the four corners of Bowling Green,” he said.

Grumpy Dave’s/Easy Street Café

Two things that can be found at this bar not easily found elsewhere are big laughs and a foamy contest.

According to the bar’s website, this happening spot, located right on South Main Street, not only offers over a hundred different imported and domestic bars, but challenges customers to drink them all. Winners will win free mugs and t-shirts as well as their name engraved on an individual brass plate.

Also, Tuesday is a perfect night for a good laugh. With a $5 cover charge ($3 for students) many different comedians will be taking over the stage to entertain the crowd.

On top of comedy night Tuesdays, the bar also includes Euchre Mondays and Karaoke Thursdays and Saturdays.

Sky Bar

The popular 18-and-over dance bar, Sky Bar, is the last watering-hole available, heading north on the east side of Main Street, past Wooster Street.

Owner Quincy Miller said it is the indoor bar’s dance scene and DJs that act as Skybar’s fuel as the wind blows in the frigid four to five months to come. DJs are elevated and removed somewhat in a dim booth above the raised stage at the easternmost end of the dance floor, which is one of the largest and most open in town. Multiple raised platforms along the walls on either side of the floor offer opportunities for the most audacious dancers to place themselves on a bit of a pedestal, if they so wish. This dance environment, Miller said, is crucial.

“It’s not too big, it’s not too small,” he said. “The music’s good, the vibe is good … atmosphere is key.”

149 North

This bar is only for 21 and older students and located on Main Street. It has opened recently and has already found its way in the hearts of today’s BG students. The bar has $1 off drafts on Mondays and Tuesdays, as well as “Wine Night” Wednesdays. The bar is perfect for older students, graduates and residents.

Uptown/Downtown

Located at the corner of Main Street and E Court Street, North of Wooster, Uptown/Downtown offers two venues with very distinct atmospheres to each. Downtown, conveniently the downstairs of the two, is a 21-and-over bar that features two pool tables, a blacklight-sensitive air-hockey table and numerous flat-screen TVs for any bar-goers sports-viewing pleasure. The bar has free pool every Monday, along with $1 wells, and features many pay-per-view events, including all UFC events. More relaxed than its upstairs companion, Downtown is not a bar to attend if one is looking to dance the night away, but for those who would rather watch some good sports, shoot pool and engage in stimulating, slurred conversations, it’s a great fit.

Uptown features many themes to attract its clientele base. Every Monday night is “’80s Night,” featuring music from the decade of low-morals, big hair and tight pants, and is particularly popular among female students who seem to laude the days when Cindy Lauper rang loud across the airwaves.

Tuesday is “Gay Night,” and offers a place where those of an alternative sexual orientation can go to be themselves without worrying over potential ridicule aimed by those less open to diversity. “Gay Night” has also been described as a good place for girls who wish to go dance without enduring the persistent plights of male callers — the heterosexual of which often avoid the scene.

The final themed night of the week, before giving way to a more typical dance-club scene, is Wednesday’s “Goth Night,” where those of a more morose sense of fashion can fit right in. Heavy metal and industrial electronic music thumps the bass these evenings and glowsticks are a welcome asset for many who grace the dancefloor.

Editor’s note: The BG News does not condone underage drinking.  

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