the-jeanie-johnstonDown the street from where I live, there’s a neighborhood bar.

It’s the kind of bar where there’s always an interesting mix of characters (and sobriety levels). It’s the kind of bar you stop into for one last drink on the way home from a fancier place. It’s the kind of bar that serves food of the microwaved-frozen-appetizer variety. It’s the kind of bar you’re surprised has a website, but not surprised when said website prominently features a New Year’s 2014 video.

It’s the kind of bar that’s in danger of extinction:

The local watering hole is being forgotten. Nielsen reports 12,766 fewer neighborhood bars today compared with 2004, but there are 60,906 more restaurants. Nielsen cites several factors including smoking bans and more sophisticated grocery booze offerings that lead to more at-home drinking. Also, “the unrelenting public interest in eating out-of-home has led to massive investment in traffic-competitive, food-led concepts,” Said Scott Elliott, Senior VP of Nielsen CGA.

Which leads me to a confession: I’m part of the problem. I like my neighborhood joint, but I spend the vast majority of my drinking dollars at restaurants, breweries, and at the liquor store buying beer to consumer later, sitting on my couch.

But I would be bummed out if my neighborhood bar went away. So I’m gonna get up off the couch, put on pants, and get a drink at the neighborhood bar more often. Who’s with me?!

P.S. If you’re not inspired by the previous paragraph, then imagine William Wallace saying it.

giphy Via Giphy