I’ve never been the type of guy to go to “the club” for a night out. When I go out with my friends, I’d much prefer a place where you can have a few (dozen) drinks, some good bar food, fire up the jukebox and have a good old bar conversation. Luckily, Cleveland’s east side is home to the absolute greatest bar in the world for just such a night… The Annex.
I’ve been a fan of the Annex Bar & Grille for a long time… much longer than I’ve been of legal drinking age come to think of it. I’m so much of a fan of this institution that I built a website as a “tribute” to my favorite watering hole: www.annexbar.com Being such a big fan, you can only imagine my excitement when I heard some of my friends planning a tweetup at The Annex! (A “tweetup” for those not familiar with the term is a gathering of Twitter users.) When The Wife heard that this wonderful get together was being conceived, she immediately thought that it was my idea. And while that certainly made perfect sense, it was actually the brainchild of @GirlFromThe216‘s idea (though I may have “nudged her a bit). She was looking for a place to get a good burger and since The Annex has the best burgers on the planet I simply had to chime in. The idea for the first #AnnexTweetUp was born.
As the weeks passed and the tweetup grew closer, I have to admit I was a bit worried. The number of folks who had RSVP’d had grown well over 10 and while I loved this bar, I wasn’t quite sure everyone else would. After all… it’s kind of a shit hole. But it’s my shit hole and dammit I love it.
The First Ever Annex TweetUp
I’m THRILLED to say that we had an absolute blast! Everyone who attended (as far as I know) had a great time and those that were on their virgin Annex experience got a good flavor of just how awesome the place is. The following folks were in attendance: @masongoodman, @TamarieKeehn, @BillableBarbie, @CleveNole, @LoquaciousC, @bitchylibrarian, @brad4word, @winelibrarian, @cornfedwarrior, @SportStoleMyMan, @LennieBK and @fishface74. What an AWESOME group of people. It was pretty tremendous to not only see some great friends but to meet some new ones.
After everyone had had their fill, the Golden Tee machine got fired up and we swapped stories and generally had an awesome time. As the night went on some had to leave and we got a few more that trickled in. And then… this happened.
I don’t know about you, but there’s something about drinking a few shots on a weeknight that’s very comforting. Not sure if it’s the nostalgia of college, the gathering of friends or that carefree (at least for that moment) moment when life is good. The night ended with an Annex patron showing his “passion” by eating one of Tami’s business cards. How outstanding is that?
Any trepidation I had about my friends liking “my bar” have officially been put to rest. Not only that, but there’s quite a bit of talk about making this a monthly event… 2nd Wednesday of every month will now be #AnnexTweetUp night! Can’t wait to see you guys then! Shots?!?!?!?
Chewy forgot to mention that we drank the bar’s entire stock of Summer Shandy and cold Miller Light. Next time, we need to call ahead so they can prepare for our drunken debauchery
@Brad – GREAT call. .. how could I possibly have forgotten drinking #AllTheShandy!