Busy night at Court Square Tavern

Court Square Tavern was packed last night for a Friday in July. This comes in part because a group of us have decided to reclaim it, to make it into what it needs to be - Charlottesville's most awesome bar. Or at least, an antidote to every other place in town.

For the record, I don't know what every other place in town is like. I only know that the Tavern is a place where I feel at home. Last night, the woman who first introduced me to the place was in there, which felt like serendipity because that means the service might be back up to their standard.

Why do I love the place so much? Maybe because it's always there for me. It's a place I can go and feel at home pretty much no matter what. Sometimes I feel like this existence is nothing more than a series of stages on which we play our lives. If we're not on those stages, we don't quite feel alive. The point of life is to make sure that we're playing an interesting part, on whatever stage we end upon.

I don't really work there anymore. I may work once a month, and maybe more in the fall when things get a little busier. These days I'm playing the role of patron and booster. I want the place to be a success.

Even when the Tavern wasn't there for me, it was there for me. After the fire, I plowed myself into my business, and did pretty well. I kept hoping it would come back, but because it did not, I had to make up a third of my income.

And now, it's there for me again in different ways, helping to meet people, having fun in what I would consider to the most overlooked spot in Charlottesville. When they come in, so many people are amazed that the place even exists. Two blocks away from the Downtown Mall. But, downtown Charlottesville is more than the Mall. No other restaurant exists north of Market Street. We are a valuable institution.

Are we excellent? Are we going the best culinary experience you've ever had? Likely not.
We're a tavern! You come to the bar to meet people and to talk to them and to learn something you didn't know before. Or, you come and you talk to people and find out you have common interests. We don't have loud music. We're not in a cavern. We're practically a living room, only with tables and chairs and someone who brings you drinks.

And, we seem to be back to the way things used to be, except without the smoking.