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CLUB SCENE
Bimini Bill's is a guy's bar where the girls will feel comfortable too
By Angelle Haney
For The Dayton Daily News
One of the primary complaints people make about Dayton, especially people of the young and partying persuasion, is that the city center rolls up the sidewalks at 6 p.m., and if you aren't in the market for the tonier attractions, such as the Schuster, or family oriented, at least during baseball season, there isn't a heck of a lot for you to do.
If only someone could provide a place for young adults to go after work and stay out late raising a ruckus on a school — I mean — work night.
Enter Bimini Bill's, 212 N. Ludlow St. While the bar and grill has been open for a few years now, it has recently changed hands, theme and menu. Gone for the most part are the elements of island decor, as is the seafood menu. Now there's a DJ booth, modest dance floor and disco ball. Lunch hour has been abolished, and now the bar opens in the late afternoon, when everything else is closing up shop. The one concession to the economic realities of life downtown is that they close at 11 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
The bar's new identity is kind of dude-topia. It's a guys' bar, from the staff to the crowd. But I was pretty comfortable, even as the only woman in the place and even being (ahem) a few years senior to all the bartenders. Seeking to outdo every other young-alternative hangout in town, Bimini Bill's has two, count-'em-two, nights of karaoke and drinks specials. They've recently aligned themselves with 103.9 The X, in terms of vibe, play list and clientele. Friday and Saturday nights are promoted as "Alternative Rock With The X," and the managers described the average patron as "an X-Fest type guy."
The bar is still finding its feet and trying to keep the doors open, so I expect any of this could change without warning. But if any of the above sounds like you and your friends, then Bimini Bill's is calling you. If you want a drink after work with the gang, maybe some light munchies, it's also a good place. Let's hope they can walk that line for a while to come.
Feed me
Regular readers know how I feel about bar food — passionate! The new menu is soups and salad, nachos and stuff, pizzas and sandwiches. My only complaint is that the sandwiches come with icky potato chips — c'mon guys, ever heard of oven-baked fries?
The name remains
Signs being expensive, the new ownership has decided to keep the name but switch to more of a "tavern" look, whatever that means. As one of the managers told me, "Most of our customers don't know what a 'bimini' is anyway."
A bimini is?
Either one of a pair of small islands in the Bahamas or a "weatherproof fabric stretched over a sailing vessel to provide shade and weather protection to the pilot and or passengers." Go win some bar trivia with that nugget.
Such nice guys
Mad props to the professionalism of the new staff, from the bar managers to the bartenders to the door and security guys. Bimini Bill's is 18 and older, with a $3 cover if you're younger than 21. They card because they care.
Money machines
Dart machines were a big crowd pleaser, but for my money the retro goodness of the Ms. Pacman machine cannot be beat.
Friendly space
You can check out Bimini Bill's new vibe and upcoming fun courtesy of MySpace at www.myspace.com/biminibills.
Angelle Haney is a freelancer from Dayton who loves to go drinking with the dudes after work.
