After Midnight, We’re Gonna Let Salon Hair Products Hang Out
We were wondering why Main Street was so crowded last night; as far as we could tell, nothing special was going on except for a hair salon’s “Midnite Madness” sale that involved selling hair products until 10 pm. But it turns out that we had stumbled into the Main Street Area Association’s Moonlight Delight event, at which “retailers stay open several hours past their normal closing times.” Shopping several hours past six — now, that’s our idea of a crazy time. Some late-night shoppers probably couldn’t even make it to the Farmers’ Market until 8 or 9 this morning.
The joke here is “retailers.” What retailers? The shitty galleries that peddle mediocre horseshit? The M-Den or Love from Michigan that passes off Michigan gear I wouldn’t be caught dead wearing outside a two mile radius of this town or stupid wooden moose sculptures that would serve better as firewood? Or perhaps the Crazy Wisdom bookstore that sells bullshit meditation paraphenalia to aging hippies who believe a $30 gem will redirect energy to correct parts of their bodies? Or the store that sells stones?
Ann Arbor downtown stays open a few extra hours? I can’t believe I missed all the fun!
posted by DrMandrake on May 7th, 2005 at 3:25 pmMandrake’s response is hilarious. I lived in Ann Arbor throughout the 80’s, which is one of many reasons I would like to completely forget that decade. WHile there, I accomplished the noteworthy acts of waiting tables at Seva, working at Rick’s Bar, waiting tables at The Full Moon (cokehead) Cafe, and attaining a BA in art. (At that time, the School of Art was probably at its worst and near broke). Even then, I felt that Ann Arbor was “too big for it’s britches”, gloriously self-promoting its pretentiousness. Now I am reading your blog about Kerrytown LoFTs, etc. I could see that coming.
posted by campbell1201 on May 7th, 2005 at 5:00 pmSo, Main St STILL sells stupid shit? There was nothing I would ever buy on Main, except a cup of coffee at some Royale chain coffee house. A rock store–how funny! 20 years later I can finally get this out of my system!
I can’t believe I missed the pulse-pounding excitement of buying “great casual forward styling, combined with leather goods” at 7 p.m. Tell me this is annual, please [curses self for the oversight].
posted by tadpole on May 7th, 2005 at 8:54 pmEven better - it’s biannual. They do “moonlight madness” at the start of the Christmas shopping season as well.
I bet Mandrake CAN’T WAIT.
posted by Lehigh Valley Refugee on May 8th, 2005 at 2:02 pmI think last night was prom night, too.
posted by Joe on May 8th, 2005 at 11:26 pmPorn Night!?! Ann Arbor’s a lot better than when I was there!
The TV just announced “Horse on a Treadmill”. Does Ann Arbor have a horse on a treadmill now?
What am I talking about, dammit?
posted by A Different Jon on May 9th, 2005 at 12:36 amYou are missing the one obvious benefit of the Artist Formerly Known as Midnight Madness:
Price.
Everything, for one “crazy” evening, costs exactly what it SHOULD cost instead of what they charge for it.
posted by Evan on May 9th, 2005 at 11:57 amSpeaking of Main Street - Leopold Bros. sucks big time. The bartender there is a big-time dick. And what’s with no pitchers? Oooh, pitchers are so proletariat. Fuck that motherfucking place.
posted by Anonymous on May 10th, 2005 at 1:00 pmRemind me what’s worth going to on Main Street again?
Because I can’t think of a single thing.
posted by Frank on May 10th, 2005 at 1:05 pmLeopolds beer is ok, I think its the food that sucks.
posted by Anonymous on May 10th, 2005 at 3:01 pmExhibit A & B:
You can’t make everyone happy.
posted by todd on May 10th, 2005 at 3:20 pmAt the risk of sounding elitist or like a “pansy” (and I’m sure we all know that’s the worst possible thing one can be), I rather enjoyed the platters at Leopold’s–the Havarti actually managed to taste interesting, and the–prosciutto, was it?–was excellent as well. Unfortunately, it was Election Night, and after I drunkenly wept myself home, I haven’t been able to bring myself to go in there again.
posted by Lazaro on May 10th, 2005 at 4:03 pmTodd: Try a little harder to make customers happy, otherwise, they will dwindle to newcomers to town only. Or go to business school.
posted by Anonymous on May 10th, 2005 at 4:40 pm“Todd: Try a little harder to make customers happy”
I think I get it. Pretend you own my place. Which customer do you listen to? The one who says your food is great, or the one who says your food sucks?
Or how about the customers who complain that your gin tastes nothing like real gin (whatever that means), and Bombay is *much* better; or do you listen to those who love the stuff?
Or how about when customers complain that your jukebox is the worst that they’ve ever seen in a bar (and they’ve been to a lot of bars)….do you change the box? Or do you, instead, listen to the people who tell you that they come to your place *because* of the jukebox?
Which customer is right? Or are they both right?
It’s just a tad more complicated than trying to “make your customers happy”. For the most part, we DO make our customers happy. We’ve had a really healthy increase in sales each and every year since we’ve been open. We must be doing more right than wrong…and believe me, that’s the most you can ask for. What I do isn’t as easy as it looks.
We change our menu all the time. Maybe if you gave me a little more than “your food sucks”, then I could actually react to your “comments”.
send me an email brewer@leopoldbros.com I can assure you that I’ll listen to any feedback.
posted by todd on May 10th, 2005 at 5:29 pmAnonymous - Whatever. Compare Leopold’s to other bars in this town and you will realize what an idiot you are. Better yet, since Leopold’s is my regular hang-out, and you are exactly the kind of moron that annoys the fuck out of me and makes Ann Arbor have its special, shitty character, why not spend your time at one of those other great bars I would never be caught dead in - like Connor’s (AKA Ann Arbor’s meatmarket, if you’re into fucking Ann Arbor whores or more likely hanging out with a bunch of B School asshole guys), or Arena (if you like hanging out with a bunch of frat boys or hicks from the sticks) or Rush Street (If you’re into oddly colored lights, poor service, expensive drinks, and shitty service).
Leopold’s the best.
posted by DrMandrake on May 10th, 2005 at 6:14 pmHey, I kind of like the Arena because they show Red Sox games on NESN. Actually, Todd, do you get digital cable? Leopold’s would be a cool place to watch the Red Sox.
posted by ann arbor is overrated on May 10th, 2005 at 6:28 pmOh, those crazy Boston Fans!
posted by DrMandrake on May 10th, 2005 at 6:37 pmLeopold’s buzz is returning after dwindling during the fall. The reason? Hefe. The only serious strike against Leopold’s is the smoke.
posted by Dale on May 10th, 2005 at 7:53 pmDale, we just completely cleaned the HVAC system. Those little energy efficient Duct Sox (the green things that puff up every now and again) were clogged because of a filter failure. I’m embarrassed to say that we missed the problem for three months.
Smoke shouldn’t be a problem anymore.
We’ll check into digital cable tomorrow AAIO.
posted by todd on May 10th, 2005 at 8:19 pm“What I do isn’t as easy as it looks.”
And running that kind of business doesn’t look at all easy to me. You have my respect and appreciation for succeeding at it.
posted by Larry Kestenbaum on May 10th, 2005 at 10:25 pmGood show! Do you send your brews across state lines? I’m in DC and Leopold’s and Bell’s beer are lamentably equally distant.
posted by Dale on May 10th, 2005 at 11:07 pmThe Arena’s not so bad. They have a decent selection on tap, the food’s all right, and they aren’t ridiculously expensive.
posted by Dave on May 10th, 2005 at 11:56 pmThe Arena is ridiculously expensive for what you get. The only times worth going are when they have specials and a game on the big screen that you HAVE to watch.
posted by js on May 11th, 2005 at 8:05 amHey Todd, you still let people order pizzas to your place?
You don’t need my beer Dale, you need Tupper’s Hop Pocket, or *any* of Old Dominion’s beers. The man who runs Bell’s now (he graduated a couple of years ahead of me in brewing school) ran Old Dominion for quite a few years. Old Dominion contract brews Tupper’s.
Great, great brewery.
posted by todd on May 11th, 2005 at 8:49 amIn the interests of full disclosure, I’ve actually managed to enjoy Conor’s in the daytime and on game days–it’s not too bad then.
At night, and especially on weekend nights, it does tend to resemble the Ninth Circle of Hell.
posted by Lazaro on May 11th, 2005 at 9:39 amjs — the same could be said of virtually anyplace in Ann Arbor. But, go in with a buy one, get one appetizer coupon and it’s pretty cool.
posted by Dave on May 11th, 2005 at 10:06 amAAIO,
We do get digital cable (shows how much tv I watch). What channel are the Sox on? Is it a pay package…MLB or something?
JS, no, unfortunately we had to stop allowing outside food to make the math work for our larger menu. Groups can still have food catered in (including pizza) if it’s handled through my brother.
It was one of my favorite things about our place, and I was sad to see it go. The problem was that so many people wanted food that *we* cooked, we were losing business. I was hoping that the town would warm to the idea of bringing in potlucks and so forth, but not enough people took advantage of it…..too bad, because we were the “cheapest” food in town when our customers brought their own stuff in. I guess that it was too “proletarian” of an idea.
posted by todd on May 11th, 2005 at 10:15 amThe Red Sox are on NESN — I’m not sure if it comes with the normal Comcast digital cable package or if there’s some other channel you can get that shows NESN sometimes.
posted by ann arbor is overrated on May 11th, 2005 at 11:56 amThat’s a real shame, Todd. That was something I liked a lot about your place… If only there was a decent place to get a slice around there…
posted by js on May 11th, 2005 at 12:54 pm“In the interests of full disclosure, I’ve actually managed to enjoy Conor’s in the daytime and on game days–it’s not too bad then.”
I recommend Sunday mornings in the summer and fall… GAA season. Watch weird Irish sports, eat black pudding, and listen to ancient craggy dudes speak in hibernian glory.
posted by mgoblog on May 11th, 2005 at 4:51 pmI was at Leopold’s tonight and some guy unabashedly had a Cottage Inn pizza delivered to him. Maybe I should have tackled him and confiscated his non-sanctioned outside food. That would have been awfully fun.
posted by Annie on May 12th, 2005 at 12:48 amI have fond memories of lugging bags of food from Mysore Woodlands to Leopolds.
Did you fix the lights over the dartboards yet?
posted by Morbidly Midwestern on May 12th, 2005 at 1:24 amHeh. So maybe the enforcement is lax…
posted by js on May 12th, 2005 at 10:39 amWell, kinda.
It’s difficult to get people out of their old habits….so we’re not really going to throw someone out that’s been used to the practice and has ordered food before they even come to the bar. That’s not really our style.
It’s just if you ask a bartender for a menu book, you’ll be told we no longer allow outside food.
We’d appreciate it if you respected our request…I’ll leave it at that.
posted by todd on May 12th, 2005 at 10:56 amOut of curiosity, is that the policy still when you don’t have food available? I mean, one could walk out and come back, or just wait until closing, but (respectfully) there’s nowhere to really walk from your place to grab something quick, and at 2 everything is jam-packed.
I had never had anything delivered to a bar until a week ago, and it was at a place damningly similar to Leopolds (save the board games). I think it was assumed that when the kitchen was closed, food could come in, and we let the employee-at-the-door know what was going down anyhow.
posted by Anonymous on May 12th, 2005 at 12:08 pmI don’t see any problem w/ food after our kitchen is closed. Thanks for asking.
We’re actually opening our kitchen on Sundays in a couple of weeks.
…also, we will be serving Washtenaw Dairy ice cream by the bowl in a few weeks as well to make life a little cooler for those of us who don’t have air conditioning. After living here for 6 years, I’m still not used to the swamp-humidity of Michigan.
Still checking on the Sox games AAIO. Scott was on hold for 15 minutes yesterday….
any more questions, drop me an email. This thread is getting to be a little too much for AAIO.
posted by todd on May 12th, 2005 at 12:29 pmseriously, leopold’s beer makes me ill. there’s consensus among my friends that, if you have more than a couple pints (not pitchers, of course, this is leopold’s…), it will make you boot.
posted by anne arbor on May 12th, 2005 at 5:13 pmsolution to your problem: don’t be a pussy.
posted by mgoblog on May 12th, 2005 at 5:25 pmMost of my beers are Bavarian Style. They are higher in alcohol content than most beers.
Question: one 24 oz. of my red lager is the equivalent of how many shots of Jagermeister?
Answer, almost 3.
I get this “your beer gives me a headache” thing every now and again. The complaint usually comes from a woman who weighs about a buck ‘o five who tells me that she had three big glasses of pilsner in a little over an hour. “Wow. You mean nine shots in an hour will make you feel bad? Hey, how about that?” is the best response that I can muster.
The problem is that you are drinking too much. I’m a brewer/distiller, not a magician. I can’t suspend the laws of biochemistry and make the alcohol not get you drunk.
Tip: don’t drink so much.
posted by todd on May 13th, 2005 at 10:05 am…or have a pizza before hand… (Heh. I’ll eat my pizza in the parking lot then, Todd.)
posted by js on May 13th, 2005 at 10:19 amLeopold Bros is one of the best things going in this town. This board is often insightful, but somtimes you just don’t know a good thing when you see it.
posted by lurker on May 13th, 2005 at 11:40 pmHa - Good response, Todd. Christ, though - There have been nights when I drank 5 big ones - you mean I had the equivalent of 15 shots of jaeger? And I’m alive? Holy shit.
Yes, I’m an alcoholic, and damn proud of it.
posted by DrMandrake on May 16th, 2005 at 4:34 pm