01/10/2013 Update


After a holiday break, I haven’t been in that big of a rush to jump right back in to journalizing the bar situation in the Quad Cities.  First, it’s taken me this long to add to my list; second, most of the news around the area has been depressing.  The opening of the Barrel House in Moline has been pushed back until spring, and among the bars closing since my last post are Red Ginger in Moline, Little Bar on Rockingham in Davenport, and La Flama in Bettendorf.  The really depressing development for me, since it’s become one of my favorite places as well as the closest to where I live, is that It’s On The River closed on Dec 22nd.  The possible good news is it will reopen with present ownership in March.

I did manage to add The Welcome Inn in Milan and Miss Mamie’s in Moline to the list – both places I didn’t truly have on my radar until I passed by.  After all, the sign at Welcome Inn does say “Welcome Inn and Lounge”, and it looks like recently painted on the wall at Miss Mamie’s is “Miss Mamie’s Restaurant and Bar”.  My list therefore goes up to 472, but my What’s Left list remains at 14, as neither Miss Mamie’s nor the Welcome Inn were on it.

Besides the aforementioned, Yeti’s, Dyce’s, The Pub, Tilt (or Envy, or whatever it was when it was last open), Rubikon, Uptown, River Oaks, Ruby Tuesday, and Cabanas are a few of the vacant bars looking for an owner.  Of course, it’s the nature of the business, but it’s led to me reminisce about some places I miss:
   
Garfield’s, Moline.  It was a Christmas tradition to go to South Park, shop for a couple hours, go to Garfield’s for a drink or two, get up the ambition to hit the stores for one or two more items, and then back to Garfield’s.  Amazingly, we met many others with the same tradition.

Pauper’s Den, Silvis.  After Garfield’s we usually stopped at Pauper’s Den too, but we didn’t need the Christmas shopping excuse to stop by and see Jim and Tom.  Their hospitality, stories, and the Polish sausage were enough for us to drop in any time of the year.

Kernan’s, Princeton.  Back in the days when we had a boat, the typical day was check out LeClaire canal to see if there was anyone we knew, then Princeton Beach to see if there was anyone we knew, then Kernan’s.  Since we didn’t really know anyone, Kernan’s was pretty much inevitable.

Bow Witch, Davenport.  Most people don’t really have fond memories of Kathy, who could curse like a sailor, and has been known to fire her entire staff when she was in her cups.  For some reason she took a shine to my wife and me.  She even gave us a 3’ “Bow Witch” Halloween doll.  This is also where we first got introduced to the Fry Daddies.

Bierstube, Davenport.  When Dieter and the Rebitzer family bought the Bow Witch and opened there first Bierstube location, there were a lot of changes.   Three things that remained constant were the Fry Daddies or Dave Ellis doing open mike nights, the escargot (though the price has gone from up a bit from the $3.75 the Bow Witch used to charge), and the nanobathrooms.  Actually, there was a change to the men’s room – they installed a hand dryer you could hear across the river.  Dieter also introduced me to Schneider Weisse, and the proper way to pour it.

Starting Line, Davenport.  This was one of the first places my wife and I frequented when we first moved to the Quad Cities, and was the first place we met Hall of Fame bartenders Jason and Mary, as well as Bob, also on my favorite bartender list.

Phitz’ Fast Lane, Bettendorf.  This place had a nice outdoor area and bar that was nice in the summer, especially when they had a band, but Phitz’ was primarily an afternoon bar for us – either for a quick one on the way home after work, or hanging out on a day off.

The Boat House, Cordova.  I think we only were here three times before it mysteriously burned down, but the place had a nice little view of the little bay in Cordova across to Princeton Beach, and it was here that my wife and I went after we decided which house to buy in Port Byron.

The Clubhouse (no, not that one), Davenport.  This was the lobby bar for the old Blackhawk hotel, and was a stop for us anytime relatives or friends came to visit as we showed them around the area.

It’s On The River, Port Byron.  Yeah, I know it’s only been three weeks or so, but I love the place, and its only two miles from home.

Honorable Mention:  Finney’s, Bettendorf;  Cheddar’s, Davenport;  Miller Time, Moline;  River Oaks, Cordova

Please comment about a favorite bar of yours that no longer is around!

Lastly, for a couple years I had the Library Lounge at The Lodge in Bettendorf on my list.  When my wife and I stopped in a couple of weeks ago, I was informed that the Library lounge is a now-unused area up by the dining room, and we were actually sitting in the Black Bear Lounge.  Change noted on the my list.

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