Everybody needs a cheers bar: a bar that they can call “the bar” or “my bar” independent of the legal ownership of the business. You know the song, and you know what I’m talking about. I’ve had three of them…
My first bar was Chapter House (RIP) in Ithaca during college. It had great beer on tap and free popcorn. I was regular enough that the door guys recognized me two years after I graduated, but not the two current students I was with. Chapter House burned down a few years ago, and is always missed. I should probably do a whole post on Chapter House.
Next, while in State College, my bar was Zeno’s, located directly above the center of the earth (and this prime location definitely made the beer taste better). Another bar deserving of its own post, and another bar where I spent entirely too much time and money. There was a three month period where I went to the bar every single day. Totally worth it.
Connecticut was a total bust as far as “my bars.” Not that the bars were all that bad, they just weren’t mine. So, lets just skip ahead to now…
Dexter is the first place I’ve lived as an adult where I could not just walk to the bar (any bar). I tried run/walking home from down town once, and pass out on the floor as soon as I got home. I still have a bar here.
My bar is Beer Grotto Dexter. I spotted it when I first drove through looking for a house, and wasted little time becoming a regular. The beer is good, the people are great, there’s popcorn, and even my book club.
The Beer Grotto is on my list of places I use to explain to people why I enjoy living in Dexter. “Dexter has everything I need, a bar, a coffee shop, and a library.” These are the list of places I spend the most time, and where I used to rotate through when I was working remotely. If I was getting antsy, I would just walk to the next place.
With the pandemic, it has been three and a half months since stepping foot in my bar (to grab some crowlers before they closed), and I imagine it will be a few more before we can hang out in bars again. Maybe we can grab a growler, or a beer on the porch, but who knows.
