As many know, the idea of Every Bar in Lakewood is not a
concrete concept. The bars of
Lakewood are more of a fluid idea.
The names and ownership change with the trends, people and standards.
Well, that, and your normal amount of bars that close due to poor management, ownership or just general grossness. This summer I caught up to the end of the current list of all the bars. But the list is wily and will not be defeated so easily. Today I announce the list of Every Bar in Lakewood-that-opens-this-summer! The Side Quest Bar, O’Toole’s Pub, The Stache, 16-Bit Bar+Arcade, and Kelley’s Pub are bars #61 through #65.
Well, that, and your normal amount of bars that close due to poor management, ownership or just general grossness. This summer I caught up to the end of the current list of all the bars. But the list is wily and will not be defeated so easily. Today I announce the list of Every Bar in Lakewood-that-opens-this-summer! The Side Quest Bar, O’Toole’s Pub, The Stache, 16-Bit Bar+Arcade, and Kelley’s Pub are bars #61 through #65.
O’Toole’s Pub has taken over the location of Irish
Kevin’s. The new bar is looking to
be an upgrade of its predecessor. The
beer list will be set for a wider audience. It will be changed more often to give O’Toole’s customers
more options and prevent beer boredom.
The biggest change to the bar will be the food. A new full kitchen is currently being installed
behind the scenes. The true inspiration
behind the bar is the love of food Urvashi O'Toole and her husband have. They want deliciousness to be seen and tasted at
O’Toole’s Pub. Their diverse
tastes of Italian, Indian, and Mexican (to name a few) will translate to options for to everyone. Urvashi wants
to make sure that her bar offers food worth loving: both for her patrons and private
events in the future.
In addition, O’Toole’s Pub will be lightening up its look. The black ceiling has been painted gold
and is the original to the building.
The windows and entrance will be enlarged so that the light from outside
can flood the bar and into create a more inviting look. The new large front windows will slide open to let in a fresh breeze during our fairer months. I
got to meet Urvashi before writing this blog and more than anything you can
tell that she is working to create a bar she can be proud of.
The kitchen should be up and running by the end of
summer, but until then, pizza from
their neighbor Grab-In-Go Pizza will be available. The window and door expansion is set for next spring to
early summer. Check it out soon
for the beer and free pizza and then revisit later to check out the new
food menu.
16-Bit Bar+Arcade has been the biggest news to Lakewood bars
this summer. It will be the only
bar not moving into a previous bar’s location: it will be going into the previous location of Five Guy’s Burgers. This is 16-Bit’s second and biggest bar,
allowing them to increase what they do great. 16-Bit Bar+Arcade will bring an army of arcade games (around
50) that will be kept current by rotating them with their Columbus
location. They will also have a
number skee ball machines, which they use for both individual and league
play. They try to offer the best
of old school and newer cocktails pushing for quality ingredients and enjoyable
taste. They have a diverse beer
list ranging from domestics, local and Belgium craft beers and some vintage
varieties. Their events are a mix
of arcade tournaments and nostalgic culture. 16-Bit Bar+Arcade looks to be a great new draw to our
fantastic downtown Lakewood.
16-Bit Bar+Arcade was originally slated to open July 1st but
has pushed back to August 29th in order to get everything just
right.
(Some info is thanks to Cleveland.com)
15008 Detroit Ave
The Stache has taken the place of Johnny Malloy’s. They have replaced the sports bar/pizzeria
to go with the idea of a “modern-day speak-easy.” They will endeavor to have the best burgers in town. Along with that, they’ll offer great
beer options, your favorite cocktails, and, keeping with the speak-easy theme, offering moonshine.
They want to make the community a part of their concept. The Stache isn’t open yet but they are
showing updates on their Facebook and Twitter pages. The Stache opened August 20th.
Billy C’s location is opening as Kelley's Pub this summer. It’s already looking better than a
month ago. It will be opened by a
local Cleveland firefighter. I
don’t know anything else about this bar yet.
Let me know if you do and I’ll write it here!
13525 Lakewood Heights Blvd.
The Side Quest Bar is opening at the previous location of Eddy & Iggy's on August 30th. It is
being opened the writer of the local blog…oh, that’s me.
Every Bar in Lakewood is opening its own bar!
A question repeatedly asked of us was, “Once you’ve finished going to Every Bar in Lakewood, what’s
your next project?” So, what does
a geeky bar blogger do next? Open
a nerd bar, of course!
We’ve visited nearly Every Bar in Lakewood and we’ve
discovered what’s missing! A bar
for us, a bar for you, a place for geeks and nerds can go enjoy the things they
love while having a few great craft beers with friends!
The Side Quest is going to focus on tabletop gaming, geeky
TV shows, and craft beers in a relaxed environment. Trivia, theme nights, lecture series, and live television
programming events will be common occurrences. New ideas and events will be included as our customers (you)
ask for them. We want this bar to
be your bar, so, we would love to hear what you’d love to see, play, and drink.
The Side Quest
will offer an extensive library that can be loaned out to play in the bar. These games can range from card games like Munchkin and board games like Settlers of Catan to Scrabble and Sweet Valley High. Don't worry, you'll also have the option to BYOG (bring your own game.)
We will offer 24 beers on draft, 12 of which will be brewed
specifically for The Side Quest Bar.
The beers we offer will be from local brewers, whenever possible. Craft drafts by local beer nerds for
local beer nerds. We will design
different seasonal cocktails throughout the year to engage your palette and
your nerdy side.
Our food will
be designed to be easy to eat with one hand to keep you in the game when your
stomach is running on empty.
This will allow you to try different foods per visit without emptying
your wallet.
In the last year, we have worked with different businesses throughout the area on events that ranged from filling up Mahall’s 20 Lanes for
the a viewing of the Doctor Who 50th anniversary episode, manning a
table at Carol and John’s Comic Shop’s Free Comic Book Day event, to a month-long
Mario Kart 8 tournament at Eddy and Iggy’s this summer. The Doctor Who party was where we
officially decided to open the bar.
I had simply wanted to watch something I was excited about with other
like-minded people. It turned out
there were a lot of you. The Side
Quest will strive to be a part of the community and local businesses through
joint promotions, events and customer participation (to let us know what they
want, like and dislike.)
Are the cities of Lakewood and Cleveland ready for a Geek Bar? We are a city where the Avengers battle
and Superman was born. We have
craft beer festivals on a regular basis.
There’s barely a bar in town that doesn’t rely on sports, games, or at
least scoring of some kind or another.
Some of our biggest drinking days involve dressing up in costumes or at
least large amounts of green. The
question isn’t, "is Lakewood ready for a geek bar?" The question is, "are you tired of waiting for your bar; a
bar that lets you eat, drink, watch, and play what you want?"
As I invite you on my new quest, my Side Quest, I don’t want
to you to stop exploring. There
are great bars opening: bars with great ideas, a bar that will offer their love of great food, a bar that will offer you hundreds of
arcade games, a bar that will
offer you the best burger and moonshine you could ask for. A bar reborn through a local fireman’s
vision, and a bar that asks, “Are
you ready to geek out?” Check us
all out and the other dozens of bars throughout Lakewood. We exist for you and because of
you. Come find your favorite bar; adventure is just around the corner.
