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.)
