Thursday, August 20, 2015

Barcade Blackboards III

Yeesh, it's been a long time since I've posted more work from my day job as a bartender at Barcade (Jersey City and Chelsea). This year, I was invited by the owners to redo the blackboards at the Brooklyn and St. Marks locations in addition to the two where I pull the taps (with more to come!). I was quite excited about the expansion of my addition to the brand... too excited, actually. The hanging board near the bottom of the gallery is located at the original Brooklyn Barcade, opened in 2004. The day the bar opened, owner Paul Kermizian climbed up on a ladder and wrote, "Tonight only: Good Times!" on it. And thus it remained, for over a decade. When Paul and I were discussing my redoing the boards, he asked me to leave this particular one untouched, as it was an historical artifact for the Barcade chain.

And then I got to Brooklyn, took out the chalk... and forgot. I grabbed a ladder, climbed up with my trusty wet bar rag, and wiped out the Good Times, replacing it with Pinty's admonitions. The next morning, going through the e-mails with Paul, I re-read his edict, and felt my stomach drop to my ankles. I e-mailed him immediately, and while he wasn't happy, luckily for me, Paul's an accommodating (and forgiving) guy, and we worked out a compromise to bring back the message of the original board (if not the actual writing). 

Please note that all of the events listed below have come and gone! But download that Barcade app and check out the upcoming events at all locations. Mayhaps I'll even be the one filling your glass.

Jersey City sandwich board

light up sign hanging by the kitchen window at our Jersey City location


New Jersey's best brewery, if yez ask me. 


Two different Nosferatu from JC and Chelsea locations

Get it? Wolverine likes DuClaw. Because, claws. 

That's Charlie Brown, and his pal, "Lionel" (according to my boss, Drew)





Another mighty fine New Jersey brewery



This was the board I was asked to leave untouched. It was also the only thing I'd signed up till that point. Whoops.

The "new" version, approximating the original message. I'll still always be the guy who erased "Good Times!"