The Spot

The Spot is the new bar that has replaced P.S. O'Rourke's.

My first statement is a tough one: Everything that I never got out of O'Rourke's, I can get out of The Spot. I love Sloan and Flea to death, they are some important people in my life. But, they didn't want a sport bar - and I kind of always did. The Spot is very much a sports bar.

The Spot is very much a hybrid. It still feels like O'Rourke's, it still feels like home. It still feels like the bar that I have so many wonderful memories from. O'Rourke's is where I met Kristen. O'Rourke's is where I filmed a lot of scenes from various films of mine. O'Rourke's was were I was guaranteed to have a friend at. Sloan and Flea didn't care about having a hugely popular bar, they wanted a place for themselves and their friends to hang out, and they treated the regulars better than I've ever seen people treated. P.S. O'Rourke's was a Speakeasy, a Watering Hole, and place for friends to sit around and just talk. On the weekends, they made their money with live bands - which Sloan never really cared for, but needed the added revenue on the weekends. But, no matter what time of day, or what day, Sloan or Flea would be there, and the waitresses treated us like no one else ever did. It was a special place, and always will be - I've got so many wonderful memories from there.

But, it's in the past. It's gone. I can't have it again. But, the other day, when we learned The Spot had opened, my friends and I found time to go there and check it out. That time turned out to be tonight. And tonight, I learned something wonderful: A former waitress, Jamie, and her husband - along with two of their friends - are the new owners of the bar. And they have done an AMAZING job with the place.

It's brighter. It's not so dark anymore. There's a sports theme, with various mid-west team banners hanging all over the place. There are HD Plasma TVs all over the upstairs, and four HD projection screen TVs on the main level. There is even a private room with it's own HD TV. The biggest improvement is the bathrooms, which have been completely redone. They look nothing like before, and are BEYOND amazing!

As I was leaving the bathroom, it happened:

"SHANE!!!"

I was told that Jamie left before I got there, so I wasn't expecting it. But, it turns out that she was just sitting at the bar. She ran up and gave me a hung, and I spent the next 45 minutes talking to her and her husband and finding out all the details about how she/they got from the closing of O'Rourke's to opening the building as their own. It was an interesting story - and I am REALLY proud of Jamie. If you read this regularly, you know one of my life-long ambitions is to own my own sports bar. So, this will be the next best thing. Jamie introduced me to the entire staff, and introduced them to me. They are all really cool, and very much like the "family" that was lost when O'Rourke's closed. Also, one of the former waitresses (and former love of my life) is supposed to come back and start working there. So, it will be awesome to see her again.

They have removed a lot of the couches. Most of downstairs is all tables and chairs. They have done a lot of tile-work on the downstairs, as well as added the big screens. Upstairs has lots of brand new leather love seats, which are very comfortable. Tonight, the NFL Network was re-airing the Colts/Patriots game - in condensed format - so we watched that and talked about the game and the Super Bowl. There is a chance that we are going to end up having our Super Bowl Party at The Spot. We talked to Jamie about it, and she made some suggestions to us. So, we're going to see how everyone feels.

It's so cool. It's still got the vibe of O'Rourke's, but with a different feel. Jamie told me she felt the same way I did when the bar closed - that she was missing a part of her life - and that was part of her motivation to buy the building and get the place re-opened, but make it a little more hip and appealing than Sloan and Flea. So, it's a nifty hybrid. It's got the old vibe for people like me, combined with the new appealing sports bar theme.

I finally have somewhere that I feel comfortable going again. It feels like home again already.

I highly recommend it, if you're looking for a cool place in Castleton - and if you actually like sports.