London Bridge to close?

[BridgeTroll]

I actually watched one of the owners bitch out a bartender for pouring foam off a beer to top it off.  Told the tender to "quit wasting beer or find another job".  I told the owner I was finding another happy hour...

[ChriswUfGator]

Yeah... It was kinda nice and kinda sad all at the same time  I have some really fun memories there...

Makes 2 of us, but that all came to a screeching halt around 2007/2008. WTF happened?

The place turned into a homeless camp / psych-ward with a royally crappy bad attitude around then. It got real pathetic, the only time I was over there the last few years was to go to PoppyLoveSmoke, and everytime I went I noticed LB was always dead as a doornail. I'm going to call it the "Chicago Pizza Effect" I think people are holding contests to find out how fast new management can kill a successful business...

[ChriswUfGator]

I actually watched one of the owners bitch out a bartender for pouring foam off a beer to top it off.  Told the tender to "quit wasting beer or find another job".  I told the owner I was finding another happy hour...

That's exactly the attitude I was referring to. It was so bad you knew you ought to be offended by it, but the way it kept going down it was just so pathetic that you couldn't help but giggling. It was sad, and really really funny, but despite the entertainment value it still wasn't something you could put up with.

Moving forward, it's really unfortunate. The place was kind of the local institution of the mid 2000s. It drew such a diverse mix of people, we don't have anything like it anymore. The other place that was awesome for drawing a great mix from all walks was Stephen's Boomtown on N. Main. These days it seems like all the fun folks stick in their cliques and nobody mixes.

[TheProfessor]

Dos Gatos was busy last night and had a nice vibe.

[fieldafm]

Current management hassles customers to no end, and the bartenders suck. The last time I went was the first time they wanted a credit-card authorization (and not because I gave them the card and asked them to run a tab) before serving me a drink. There are too many places to go for me to have to put up with someone rubbing the fact that they don't trust me in my face.

And I don't see how anyone who actually drinks could enjoy that place anyway. Kind of hard to get any kind of a buzz when it takes 40 minutes between visits by the bartender. I actually made the comment one night "You've got me going the other way, my liver's actually processing faster than you're serving..." I was probably the only one amused, but hey, you take what you can get.

+1,000

[904Scars]

Agreed, use to go in there quite often but as of the past year or two I avoided the place. Smelled like vomit on the regular... to the point where I couldn't even smell my beer, ha. It's sad to say but they had it coming.

[urbanlibertarian]

"The place turned into a homeless camp / psych-ward..."

Yeah. Good times.  Now, where do we crazy, smelly folks go?

[Shwaz]

I stopped in last Friday for one last beer with a friend of mine who I used to go up there a lot with after work. It was nice to reminisce, the first Art Walks, epic golden tee battles and various times of debauchery.

While we were there it looked like some prospective buyers were being shown around the place. I hope whomever buys it will keep it a pub... or make it into a Cheesecake Factory..maybe an IKEA.

[billy]

maybe a unicorn stable

[Captain Zissou]

Great location for a Fuddruckers.  Design and build would be a cinch.  I predict an opening day of 06/01/11.

[RiversideLoki]

I had only been a few times, and only very recently. It was always (as others have mentioned) dead as a doornail. But the woman behind the bar (owner I guess?) was always super nice to us. Still, the place was dingy and nasty, and I was only stopping in before or after dos gatos for some bar food.

Shame to see another place close, but you get what you give.

[RockStar]

Great location for a Fuddruckers.  Design and build would be a cinch.  I predict an opening day of 06/01/11.

Then there would be two Fuddruckers locations downtown, right? lol

[Dog Walker]

Let's hope that it won't be any kind of chain, but a local, imaginative place; something unique like Dos Gatos or Walker's, etc.  We can do better than Fuddruckers, certainly!

[Shwaz]

Let's hope that it won't be any kind of chain, but a local, imaginative place; something unique like Dos Gatos or Walker's, etc.  We can do better than Fuddruckers, certainly!

But I want ligonberries!

[mtraininjax]

Amy, who used to work at the Bridge is now at Intuition. When Martin and Ginger sold the place, it really went downhill fast. I remember hanging at the Bridge when they owned it on NYE and drinking champagne in the rain. It was a great place while it lasted.