I would be remiss if I didn’t start my posts by talking about one of my all-time favorite hometown dive bars!
I’ll be the first to admit that I’m not very familiar with the music of heavy metal band GWAR, but I’m absolutely in love with the bar that was started by Dave Brockie (aka Oderus Urungus) in collaboration with James River distillery’s Jonathan Staples and their friend Travis Croxton. I was originally drawn to the bar by their plentiful vegan food options but fell in love with the clientele and employees of the bar from the very first visit.

I’ve spent many afternoons at the bar watching old movies on Netflix. One of my favorite early moments at the bar was a fall afternoon, shortly after they opened at 4pm. A friend and I were sitting at the bar drinking PBR (because what else would I drink at a dive bar?) and watching movies on the bar’s tv. Scream had just finished playing when the bartender was browsing Netflix to find another movie to watch. I can’t remember the name of the movie she landed on, but once she hit play there was an audible discontent from all the patrons sitting at the counter. When the bartender caught wind of everyone’s objection, she asked what we wanted to watch instead. Unanimously, we all blurted out “The Craft!” which she had previously passed up in her search. My friend and I ordered a pitcher of PBR and a plate of Seitan’s Balls (vegan deep fried seitan with GAWRbq sauce and housemade vegan ranch) and settled in to watch the movie.

The location of GWAR bar makes it the perfect spot to take in a classic Halloween movie on a brisk fall afternoon. The bar is situated on the corner of Clay St. in the Jackson Ward neighborhood in downtown RVA. The front of the bar is designed with full-length windows that let in plenty of light and provide a wonderful view of the fall foliage across the street at Abner Clay Park.

Little did I know that Abner Clay Park would eventually become much more than a neighborhood hotspot. In February of this year, a horrible tragedy occurred at the park when a dog named Tommie was tied up and ruthlessly set on fire. I had the privelege of caring for Tommie at the emergency vet where I work full time in Richmond. It was one of the most fulfilling and ultimately heartbreaking cases I have ever worked on. It was hard for me to believe that something so cruel could happen in my city, much less just across the street from one of my favorite hangout spots. After the tragedy, GWAR Bar introduced a special drink, aptly called, “The Tommie.” A portion of the sales from each drink went to Richmond Animal Care and Control in Tommie’s name. Needless to say, I spent many more hours at the bar in the months following Tommie’s death to pay tribute to him and visit his memorial just across the street. It was always emotional visiting during those times while I was trying to make sense of everything that had happened, and I’m so thankful to GWAR Bar for their support of RACC and Tommie.