We walk into a bar in Delaware

Hutch's Pub

Faithful readers of Dean and Mindy walk into a bar (are there such people?) know there is a running debate here about whether certain places are bars or restaurants (using the words "grill" and "pub" can add to the confusion). This week there's a different debate. Is Hutch's Pub a bar or a pool hall? (I think we can quite certain say Hutch's is not a restaurant, even though it's possible to order food at the bar, because they post kitchen hours which differ from the bar hours. Since there are hours that Hutch's open and food is not served, we can safely rule out restaurant; even though their wings are quite tasty.) But might it be a pool hall?

Besides the pool team schedules, APA (American Poolplayers Association, not the American Psychological Association) schedule, and, of course, the pool tables, there were other billiard decorations to be found. I particularly liked the pool cue with the scope and the "break" mirror.

As nearly as we could figure, almost all the customers there that night were there to play pool. Only one of the two pool tables was in use, though, apparently because only two teams were playing that night. Some nights there are four teams, and on those nights both tables are in use. But there is only league pool play on Wednesday and Thursday nights. So five nights a week, it's clearly not a pool hall. No doubt about it, Hutch's Pub is a bar, in any alcohol-related definition of the word.

We sat at the bar, and Mindy ordered an Angry Orchard cider. I asked for a bourbon and water and let Kaitlyn the bartender make the call on the brand (Jim Beam), and accepted when she offered ice and lemon. Uriah Heep was playing loudly, and a guy in the bar called out, "I seen these guys in concert, man! First freakin' Scorpion and now this! Who's programing the jukebox? I saw them when I was 17 and I was so f...ed up!" (Other oldies heard through the night included John Mellencamp's "Pink Houses" and "Tuff Enuff" by the Fabulous Thunderbirds.)

I talked to a couple seated near us, Jeanie and Walter. Walter is from Switzerland, Jeanie is American; they met online. In the four years they've been together, they've traveled the States extensively and been to Switzerland five times. They don't only shoot pool -- Walter is active in a Swiss Shooting Club in the area.

I asked them our two standard questions, "What makes for a good bar?" and "What makes for a good church?" For a bar, Jeannie said it was a matter of the friendly people. She said the people at Hutch's can be rowdy, but they aren't violent. She comes alone to the place every other week to play pool and always feels safe. Walter said it's a matter of the general atmosphere. He doesn't like big bars, but prefers a place where you can get to know people. They both liked the fact that there was a consistent crowd at Hutch's. They said we'd just missed Tom, the owner, a man who knows his customers. As for what makes for a good church, Jeanie said, "No priest, no minister, no pastor." She described herself as a "recovering Catholic." She said they were married in a Swedenborgian church in Wilmington, The Church of the Holy City, about which they were quite enthusiastic.

Mindy talked with Kaitlyn, our bartender. She's been working at Hutch's for nine months, and when Mindy asked what made a good bar,  Kaitlyn said good drinks and friendly people. "We call this a Cheers bar. Everyone knows everybody's name. I love my little Cheers bar." As for what makes for a good church, she said, "I really feel I've got to go with friendly people again."

Mindy talked to another woman, Marty, who wasn't there to play pool. She said that in a bar she looks for "a good drink with decent people; it has to be safe."  When asked about a good church, she told Mindy about her own church as well as a few other historic churches in the area. She's a member of Christiana Presbyterian Church, which she described as being a community base. "It's not a big church" she said, "but it's been around since the Revolution." She talked about the church's mission trips, women's groups, and VBS. "We're a regular mainline Presbyterian Church."

I asked one other patron, Dave, our two questions. He said he's been coming to this bar for 8 to 10 years. He values people in a bar; the staff and the customers. He likes being at a place where the people are "genuine" and won't stay if they aren't. The staff needs to be attentive to the needs of the customers. Like everyone I spoke to, he was highly complementary of Kaitlyn. (As we were talking, she was standing nearby and said, "You better say good things about me, I'm serving you drinks.") Dave does go to church (The Love of Christ Church), and he values a pastor who relates to people. If the pastor in his sermons "hits home," it's a good church, Dave said.

Before leaving, we needed to watch Jeanie finish her game. She sunk the nine ball, winning her game. We congratulated her and said goodbye to folks, including the people smoking outside who we'd met inside. We were glad we went to Hutch's. It's a place for a good game of pool and it has a good pool of people.

Dean and Mindy walk into a bar in Kentucky

The Wrigley Taproom and Eatery, Corbin, Kentucky

Corbin is new to the bar thing. It's not new to the drinking thing, of course. I talked to a woman who remembered bootleggers selling to twelve year olds when she was a kid, so the drinking got done even back when the county was "dry." Corbin has only been "wet" for the last two years. (There are also "moist" counties that allow the sale of alcohol, but it can't be consumed on the premises.) The political battles of prohibition continue county by county to this day. (We came across something similar when we walked into a bar in Dodge City.)

Mindy and I had a hard time deciding which bar to go to. Usually, our preference is to go to a place that is mostclearly a bar and not a restaurant. If you go into a place, and all they sell is alcohol in glasses, you are certainly in a bar. But if they sell food and drink, is it a bar?

Frankly, when we first got to town, we were looking for food and drink, because we were more than ready for supper. Stumbling upon Sanders Park and realizing that Corbin is the home of Kentucky Fried Chicken, Sanders' original cafe became the place we had to eat (they had a KFC museum as well). But where to drink? (Like most KFCs, the mothership just has a soda machine.)

After we ate, we parked the car and took a walk down Main Street. On this particular night (a Tuesday), the wine bar was closed (open Thursday, Friday and Saturday only). Another place had a bar area separate from the eating area, but those stools were empty. We kept walking, and soon, even from across the street, we could hear misic and conversation: The Wrigley Taproom and Brewery was hopping. Still, there was that dilemma. Not only were there many people eating dinner, there were many families with little children eating dinner. Still, it seemed our best option in town, and we weren't sure what other opportunities we'd have during the rest of the week, since we'd be far from towns the rest of the week.

So we went to the bar in the restaurant and took our stools. And there were beers, shots, and mixed drinks available without ordering food -- so we hereby declare it a bar. Even though we were sitting between people eating food, they also had drinks. 

It took a bit of time to order our drinks because the staff was short for the crowd, and because all food is ordered from one end of the bar. Jerry, part of the waitstaff, asked if we were visiting. When Mindy explained that we were visiting a church and bar in every state, he told her, "There's a church in Manchester where they still handle snakes." When he wasn't too busy, she asked what he thought made for a good bar, and he said the variety of drinks and the atmosphere (for example, if you want a dive bar, you'll be looking for a dark place with bad juke box music). For a church, though he doesn't go, he said he'd look for kindness and acceptance.

I ordered a Whiskey Sour because in Kentucky it seemed I should have something with bourbon, and Mindy ordered a Cucumber Refresher because she was told it would be tasty (which she found it to be) and because she had an old fashioned last week (in Tennessee).

When I asked the two women next to me at the bar if I could ask them about churches and bars, one of them, Ruth, laughed that she went to church with one of the owners of this bar. And Marsha said that she wasn't the one to ask because she wasn't a bar person, she's an old woman. (She probably wasn't older than me, so, um, never mind.) They were both glad that there were finally bars in town.

Ruth said she likes some of the same things in this bar that she likes in her church. She likes that both are relatively small with friendly people. She likes a small church, though there weren't as many programs for her kids. She also appreciates that her church doesn't consider things like drinking a sin (again, something in common with The Wrigley). She also likes that her church does outreach projects, like packing backpacks of food for those in need.

Marsha, in spite of not being a bar person, is currently more of a bar fan than she is a church fan. She quit attending church regularly because of a variety of things. When her teenage daughter was asked to leave the worship team at their church after other teens were asked to join. Marsha said she tried to talk to the pastor about the matter, but he refused. That happened at least a decade ago, but the church has done other things she hasn't cared for since then, like selling the parsonage and buying the pastor a house.

Marsha's husband, Otis, had more to say about what makes for a good bar. He likes a place that is relaxed and not pretentious. He's walked into bars in DC and NYC. where he says he sensed pretension, so he turned right around and walked out. I asked him where he'd gone to bars when Corbin was dry, and he said he and his friends would drive to Lexington or Knoxville.

When asked what would make for a good church, Otis said that, like a good bar, a good church should lack pretension. He said a church shouldn't be political, but he's never been to a church that wasn't. He said he was more able to worship God in his car or his living room than in a church.

While I was talking to customers, Mindy was talking to one of the owners, Kristin, who said something that makes a bar successful and fun is creating intentional community. In making The Wrigley, the owners designed for this, making a "family table" which runs the length of the room and is narrower than usual, where people are naturally encouraged to talk to each other. The only menu is on the wall behind the bar, where people stand together to order. The Wrigley is a community hub; Bible studies are held there, wedding rehearsal dinners are held there. Kristin said if you can create community, "people will run to it."

Mindy asked her what makes for a good church, and she answered again with community. "I go to a church where I might not agree with all their core beliefs, but they're family. The church is supposed to be a family in the community."

So we're glad we decided on The Wrigley, and for the evening, we were part of its community. (By the way, while we were talking, Ruth invited Marsha to come to her church.)