Walking into my family bar is always a good time. Familiar and unfamiliar faces pepper the scene as they go about their conversations and the bar is at work. Conversations at the bar are usually about the Eagles, Phillies, or Flyers; but I hear the occasional story of a Gaelic Football championship or a really good concert. The barback is missing from the scene as the two usual bartenders are hard at work. The bartenders are always greeted by a wide array of people at the bar. The usuals are there but there are always a couple of odd groups at the bar. A guy straight from Ireland is yelling about his Guinness being poured wrong, the elder ladies in the corner are asking for fancy drinks such as Mohitos, Fancy Margaritas, and shots of stuff I've never heard of. The variety at the bar is always interesting.
When you first walk up to the bar you will notice you can't use any of the doors in the front. There is a weird stair that people always trip on so the door got moved off to the side. The Hardwood floor is always polished and if you come early enough it smells really good. Music is never stopped because there is a huge list of songs that people pick from to listen to. The jukebox constantly has a line of country, rock, and pop enthusiasts. The bar itself is on the right side of the venue surrounded by high seats. The left side has tables for people who are just looking to eat or, later at night, for people who are looking for a seat.
The beerback arrives at the scene every day of the weekend at 6 p.m. Their job involves way more than just getting beer for the bartender at this bar. "We do everything here including the normal stuff a beerback does." He has that slow Northeast Philly accent. He goes off and lists a bunch of his daily tasks. "Besides getting beer, I clean dishes, mop the floors, clear off tables, I do her job, (He says to the waitress who was leaning over the bar) and I critic the dancers." He goes off with the bus tray downstairs and the next time I see him he has my plate of food. "Told you I do her job." The bar usually picks up around 6 p.m. and the DJ should come at 9 p.m.
A couple months before the opening night, my family bought a stripped down building. The building is the remnants of the old bar, Smokeaters. The old bar had a lot of negative reputation that we had to justify. My uncle and two of his friends purchased this ghost of a building. My family built the old building back into a decent bar. They worked threw water damage, broken pipes, and faulty electric wires to finally finish the bar it is today.
Every Saturday is pretty busy but this wasn't any Saturday. It was Eagles football day and the bar was almost all taken by 5 p.m. and the game was at 7 p.m. People were camping on the tables waiting for an elusive bar seat. The beerback always comes in with a ton of work during these early games.
No comments:
Post a Comment