|If you’re tired of smelling like beer and hearing drunken pickup lines, Ames has a bar (or two) for you

By By Keith DuCharme

Daily Staff Writer

Thumping music envelops the large crowds in a dimly lit interior full of smoke and spilled beer.

Does this sound like any bar you know in Campustown?

Although the environment on Welch Avenue is synonymous with student life, there are those who want a change from the ordinary. It’s probably easy to think there is little choice in Ames, but actually, there are at least a few places throughout the city that aim toward a different crowd.

Although many don’t advertise specifically for students, there are quiet drinking holes where you won’t have to wait in long lines or push through large crowds.

One such place is Brewer’s, 2704 Stange Road, located in the Somerset subdivision. Blair Brewer, the owner, says that deciding to open the bar was almost by-the-book.

“We thought there was a need for a contemporary, upscale environment [in Ames],” he says. “We figured we found a niche and decided to fill it.”

The bar is decked out with blue walls and matching hardwood floors, complemented with a sleek black bar. Brewer says the cosmopolitan look is for customers to believe they’ve been whisked away to a larger metropolitan area.

“A lot of comments I get are usually ‘I don’t feel like I’m in Ames,'” Brewer says.

But if metropolitan isn’t your preference, there are other environments. Like 212 Main Street Pub and Grill, located downtown. It may look similar to other bars, containing only a handful of tables in a wood-stained environment.

The differences are easy to see. Music plays softly in the background, allowing the cli‚ntele to have a conversation over their drinks. There is room to navigate the small bar — meaning you don’t have to push people out of the way.

Dwight Rivera, the owner, says that he, like many other bars downtown, relies little on the student population to stay afloat.

“That’s not to say we don’t welcome them,” he says. “It’s just we have constant business, even when the students leave after finals.”

But Rivera says there is quite a bit to offer students who prefer not to drink heavily and enjoy a relaxed environment.

“Over here, people come in after 4, have a few beers and maybe go somewhere else,” he says. “We try not to have a really loud bar or huge specials to get people drunk.”

Both Brewer and Rivera say most of their customers are young professionals and some upperclassmen and graduate students. Rivera says this group is a bit different than the normal Campustown crowd.

“The huge difference is the age and experience,” he says. “They know how to handle themselves better in an environment like this.”

The businesses’ method of getting the word out couldn’t be more different — Rivera has been placing ads in local papers, but Brewer says his place has relied completely on word-of-mouth — quite a risk to take for a new business. Fortunately, the unique area in which his bar is located helped propel the business, Brewer says.

“We wanted to be a neighborhood-style of place — it also helped to keep expenses down,” he says. “[Somerset] is a very niche area, so there’s a lot of draw from the area itself.”

The formula proved successful, and Brewer has been able to draw enough people to do well. He says he feels no direct competition to Campustown because of his establishment’s unique standing.

“We kind of wanted to be a Cyclone Liquor with feet,” Brewer says, referring to the large selection both places offer. “We’re upper-scale, so you won’t find any Hawkeye Vodka here.”