Whores at Applebee's: My life in small-town Kentucky
Now that our tiny town is allowed to serve alcohol on Sundays, apparently we're about to get a new restaurant with a liquor license cradled in its arms. Don't know who it is yet. I can't imagine it won't be some kind of focused-group pale shadow of a watering hole that corporations vomit out every fiscal quarter, but I guess it'll be up to me and my kind to make it the kind of place we want no matter what ownership's mission statement says. I fear it will be an Applebee's. The Applebee's in Danville, apparently, is packed all weekend long. Danville, like us, is considered 'moist' (save your jokes, losers); alcohol service only where food is served. Kinda lame. These little towns are just dying for a neighborhood tavern that's been here as long as they've been serving bourbon. Apparently in other towns nearby, the Applebee's is where the pay-to-play ladies hang out. I guess that's a hopeful sign. I guarantee that wasn't in the Applebee's HQ operational plans.
Also, I found a new liquor store up north, in the next county up, and the guy is trying to specialize in all kinds of neat unusual beers. For this area anyways. But he wants to have feature breweries with tastings, hard to find stuff, same ideas that places in Chicago like Binny's (I miss you, Binny's) would do. See? More hope.
The leaves are showing off their colors. This'll be my first autumn in Kentucky.
Also, I found a new liquor store up north, in the next county up, and the guy is trying to specialize in all kinds of neat unusual beers. For this area anyways. But he wants to have feature breweries with tastings, hard to find stuff, same ideas that places in Chicago like Binny's (I miss you, Binny's) would do. See? More hope.
The leaves are showing off their colors. This'll be my first autumn in Kentucky.
Comments
Craig
I don't have any jokes. Kansas still has stupid liquor laws. The metro areas were able to serve what they called 3.2% beer. No wine or liquor, just beer. In the 70s-80s, the bigger Kansas counties got around the liquor-by-the-drink obstacle by with saying they were private clubs. The hot dance spots were charging insane membership fees, hundreds per year. Most places were around $25. I do believe all these "clubs" had to serve food. Then the national chains came to town (remember Chi Chi's Mexican?), and all the clubs became reciprocal with their memberships, and the memberships somehow became free after time.
I still remember standing in line waiting to be seated at restaurants and folks from out of town being told they couldn't order drinks. You couldn't apply for a "membership" if you didn't have an ID showing a local address, or had to wait 10 days or some horsepucky. I've blocked some of the details. A local would always step up and let them in on their "membership", but still. It was ridiculous. The restaurant staff had to go through the motions, or they could be closed down. The out-of-towners were always incredulous at the twisted, screwy laws.
Maybe 5-6 years ago, the urban counties in Kansas voted in to have liquor sales on Sundays. Western Kansas, I believe, is still mostly dry and not even moist. It's still dumb. I have to go to a package store to get wine or liquor. I can buy that beer in a grocery store. Across the state line in Missouri, they have easy one-stop shopping. Kansas cops used to sit on state line and arrest people bringing over Sunday liquor from Missouri, but some guy fought it and they don't do that any more.
Craig
I think Utah might still be that way with the private club memberships. When the Olympics were in town, most local hosts were embarrassed by the membership cards visitors would have to fill out to join in order to drink. When I lived in Denver, I remember the 3.2 was still the Utah thing. In Denver, you could drink out on Sunday, just couldn't buy it at the stores.
It's amazing to me that I live in a county surrounded by some of the oldest bourbon distilleries in America, and I can count the number of liquor licenses on one hand in my town.
Never lived in or near a dry county, and never wanted to.
The liquor store she'd go to didn't have much of a selection. Being from the Philly area she asked if they ever carried Yuengling. The guy said he didn't have any Chinese beers... Humorously they did end up stocking it for her and it became popular with the locals.
I've been spoiled by Jersey's fairly lax alcohol laws. The only things I really have to deal with are no hard liquor sales after 10 PM (at stores that is) and nothing before... maybe noon on Sundays? Can't remember. Also the 2 license limit for chains - that's why a lot of grocery stores don't carry anything at most locations.
When there were tougher restrictions, in most cities if you were local, or with locals, you could usually find some store that would sell you alcohol out of hours, the shelves with booze on would often be blocked off but there was a way to get what you wanted with the right nod and a wink.
Nowadays there are numerous local bars in London that I can get a drink at virtually any hour of whatever day of the week it is. Hopefully for those who want to have a drink on Sundays in Kansas and similar places you'll catch up in far less than 25 years.
What's this got to do with music? I guess that most live music still sounds good after a few drinks, or so I'm told!
Well, you'll probably stop mooing under your breath after a few years.
Hopefully for those who want to have a drink on Sundays in Kansas and similar places you'll catch up in far less than 25 years.
I am not sure Western Kansas will pass these laws even in 25 years. Kansas was the first state to pass a prohibition law. A former Kansas attorney general raided an Amtrak train for serving liquor by the drink in the 70s, before it was legal in Kansas.
What's this got to do with music?
Nothing. It's in an off-topic category/thread.
People around here are complaining about how cold it is. It hasn't sunk below thirty yet. It is obvious that my new hobby is gonna be making fun of people who complain that it's cold.
Today, it feels like Spring. Wind blowing hard, hint of rain in the air, but plenty of sunlight for my cats to lounge in.
I don't think I'll ever live anywhere with as nice of weather as Denver had, but this is shaping up okay.
Whoo!
Craig
The only truly bad thing about winter in Kentucky is too many gray,overcast days in January/February. I begin to wonder if there really is a sun, and I'm so glad to see the crocus around the first of March because that's my sign that I survived the winter. Oh, yeah, there can still be cold and snow, but spring will soon arrive.
Take that and multiply by at least three and that's the bleakness of a Chicago winter... a real winter. That ice storm you had last year, tho, was pretty bad.
It does put their whole 2 for $20 promotion in a new light, huh?
As for licensing laws, I'm not even sure what they are anymore. Pubs and bars close at 3 am, shops open at 6 am and if you're stuck in between, there's a local shop owner I know who hands out his business cards to regulars - you can call him 24/7 and he will deliver your poison of choice.
Whereabouts do you call home? The 3am-6am dead zone sounds like Chicago back in the day, but its changed a bunch since then.
Oh, and I'm pleased to say the heating has had to go back on tonight.
Excellent! Well, perhaps not for you, but they say that any extreme weather round your way arrives here two to three weeks later - snow for chrimus after all.
Most of the suburbs don't have anything that resembles a bar--liquor licenses require something like 65% of the revenue to come from food sales. Absolutely insane.
I remember when I was a kid, my folks distilling ordinary vodka to make it stronger, using a weird glass contraption connected to the kitchen tap and heated over the stove. They would then use it to make a fruit liqueur for Christmas. It was much in demand within the family and apparently delicious.