Mark’s Tavern
McGrath’s tavern opened on February 22nd 2009, on the eve of my best friend, Mark’s 21st birthday. Since a lot of us were already 21 we joined him for a round (or 2 or 3….) of drinks in the cozy downstairs bar. Mark’s cheeks turned rosy within the hour and we stayed up most of the night sharing memories, making new ones and laughing. His dad stood behind the bar mixing our poisons- wait, what you say? Mark’s dad was the bartender? Yes, indeed he was, but that’s because he’s also the owner and builder of the bar. It had been finished just in time for Mark’s birthday and proved to be an awesome birthday present from his parents.
Alright, so it might not have been the best idea for my friend Mark’s parents to give him a bar for his 21st birthday. A fully stocked bar-with no eye-popping, credit card-maxing bill at the end of the night. Even though it probably wasn’t the best idea, it still happened. Mark’s parents opened their basement bar on the eve of Mark’s 21st and if they would have charged for drinks they would have made back all the money it took to build it within the first weekend. That was a few years ago and thankfully, Mark survived the countless nights of living up the gift he got.
Now the bar has become his pride and joy-his baby, if you will. He won’t allow anyone else behind the counter and insists on making everyone’s drinks, no matter how many people are there. He dutifully scrubs the granite counter top, and hands each drink to a guest like he’s working for tips. The bar mirrors, and neon signs have added to the tavern ambiance Mark has tried to create, but it still feels like a basement bar rather than a cool tavern. It has all the regular ingredients a good bar should have, but it’s missing the one thing that could put it over the edge and into feeling like a real tavern.
Luckily, with personalized foil stamped napkins at Giftsin24m Mark can have the perfect variety of personalized napkins fit for what he wants. A true bar, with a pride in what it has to offer, it should be personalized. It should have a signature. With the foil stamped napkins Mark is getting, he’s also getting a signature. A little piece of something that transforms it from a bar in the basement to (almost) a tavern.
RSS Feeds
Jada – San Diego, CA
Wow!!! Sounds like your friend Mark received the ultimate birthday present from his folks. I am sure there are a lot of 21 year olds that have dreams about having their own bar/club. Being able to run things their way and party all night long. I would agree having personalized napkins is a great way to get the bars name out there. For whatever reason people always take bar napkins home with them. Sometimes you just jot something down on them and other times they just magically find their way into your purse.
11 January 2012, 9:36 amjames hofida
Lol, I feel like singing “GO shawty, its your bday” by 50 cent. Sorry, rap moment. But it would be cool if we can get some personalized napkins and throw him a party at the tavern. It would really cheer him up since he is very social and outgoing.
“Live, love, learn, life”
11 January 2012, 11:39 amPaul Atridia
Living in Chicago downtown, the brown atmosphere is unique as ever. Mark’s Tavern sounds really cool because he achieved his little piece of the American dream. It just shows you that a little courage to start your own entrepreneurship gig can be rewarding.
11 January 2012, 11:43 amJeff Harvey
Having your own basement bar sounds pretty cool, and I would definitely take pride in that if I had one. Personalized napkins, foil stamped or otherwise, are definitely a great idea to add some uniqueness to the bar. Another thing that’s great for a bar to add a unique flair is to create one or more unique house drinks.
I think if I had a basement bar of my own, this is what I would do. I would have several different kinds of personalized napkins, either foil-stamped or monogrammed, and each would have the name and recipe of a custom drink.
Unfortunately, I’m not enough of an expert to even know what goes into most standard drinks, so creating some unique concoction of my own is probably not something I’ll ever actually do. But I still think it would be cool to have custom napkins that have your unique drink’s name and ingredients on it. People would definitely want to keep one of those for themselves if they liked the drink.
11 January 2012, 2:21 pmAllwriteNow
Enjoyed this blog, keep up the good work !
11 January 2012, 2:51 pmTigerpaw
So what does that last remark in the blog mean ? “Almost a tavern” ?
11 January 2012, 4:40 pmMary Beth
WOW that’s cool!! Is this like a private bar, or actually a business? That’s really neat either way.
I totally agree, Mark should get some personalized napkins for his bar. Like someone said above, they add a nice unique feeling to the place, instead of using boring plain white napkins. I like the foil stamped napkins designs, so I think that’s a very good choice!
11 January 2012, 10:47 pmHenry B Springs
Sometimes you need a little time to get away. You might even call it a change of atmosphere. Your local neighborhood pub or tavern may be the perfect place for you to go to relax and unwind, especially if it creates a coy custom made atmosphere, someplace where you can forget about your cares and take in the sites, people and enjoy a few amenities. Sometimes ceilings are adorned with ceiling fans and stained glass lamps. Often there are candles or lanterns on each table and what might even be an added touch of personalization is to get an original Napkin made for your Tavern. It will add to the atmosphere and the recognizable identity of the place. Consider any one of our 112 Foil Stamped, Monogram or Embossed Napkins in any of 112 styles. Each neighborhood tavern you visit is personalized by its owners name the ethnicity of citizens, the brands or origins of its beer, cuisine and accompanying alcohol it serves. A lot of them have decided toget their own Napkins have you?
The American concept of a tavern has evolved into “a place of business where people gather to drink alcohol. Inns and taverns were synonymous at one time. An inn was a place that was sometimes connected to a tavern that had a license to put up guests and lodgers. A tavern literally meant ” a shed or workshop” that served wine while inns served ale. You may still find a lot of traditional tavern/inns in New York, Chicago, San Fancisco or Los Angeles. Nowadays taverns serve all types of alcoholi and alcoholic beverages. They have incresingly sought to become more personalized and build their own brand image around nostalgia, ethnicity of its patrons, the traditional style of heavy wood paneling, leather couches, leather covered chairs, scrubbed tables and stain glass windows. Every Taven is trying to achieve the same type of unique brand and brand with personalized momentos like Personalized Guest Towel Napkins, Coasters or whatever Personalized Napkins you’ll need. Oxford , Paris and First Foil Stamped and Whitlock Napkins are ways Taverns are continuing to reinfore their unique place in history.
“There is nothing which has yet been contrived by man, by which so much happiness is produced as by a good tavern.”
Writer: Samuel Johnson
11 January 2012, 10:50 pmJonathan Price
Even for a topic about taverns, Henry Springs delivers a relevant quote. I’m impressed!
Anyway, having a bar in the basement would be pretty cool. If it were me, I’d definitely go with personalized foil-stamped napkins to add a personal touch to the bar. I also think those New Year’s Eve holiday napkins would be cool since they have the little champagne glass pictures on them.
12 January 2012, 12:12 amHenry B Springs
Taverns have become an American staple. They are neat, little, cozy pockets of neighborhood history, where patrons come to indulge in their national past time of alcohol. Over the course of time distinct menus have resulted alongside of an original agenda for mixing and serving drinks in America’s oldest taverns. In some cases tables are dressed with red checkered table cloths like at P.J Clarke’s in New York that opened 125 years ago and in other cases tables are bare. Part of Clarke’s personalization or nostalgia is “an out of order pay phone,” a juke box and a broken cigarette machine. The White Horse Inn is another one of this country’s oldest Taverns. It was established in New York City in 1888 and was a “hot spot” for famous writers of the time: Norman Mailer, Hunter S. Thompson and Jack Kerouc. Unfortunately they didn’t have Personalized Napkins at that time to further their brand identity but now they are a possibility. Can you imagine if they did? Better yet imagine a Personalized Napkin complimenting their personality, style and history in 112 of Our Best Selling Napkins: Trajan, Classic Monogrammed, Metro Foil Stamped, Brittany Foil Stamped or F orever Foil Stamped Napkins. What a tradition they’d carry on?
Believe it or not one of the oldest tavern in this country was established as a tavern before the revolutionary war, Jean Lafittes in 1772. Other taverns like “The Ear” in New York that were built in 1817. It was a home to James Brown, a Washington aid during the revolution. Like most of America’s oldest taverns and the institutin itself it has gone through some major changes throughout history. Most serve food and “The Earl” is known for its burger with raw onions and pickles. At one time some of these landmark neighborhood meeting places were breweries, bars and restaurants that evolve to speak easies during prohibition. They were places in neighborhoods to go to drink, lounge, play board games, buy beer and participate in drinking games. In some cases they were called Ale houses featuring original beer or beers, personalized decor, menus, hitoric clientele and in some cases Personalized Napkins complete with Shamrocks and lists of its famous customers through out history. Can we design a Peronalized Napkin for your Pub or Inn? Select from a list of our Best Selling 124. Isn’t your pub, tavern or bar worth it? What’s it called?
“People go to church for the same reasons they go to a tavern: to stupefy themselves, to forget their misery, to imagine themselves, for a few minutes anyway, free and happy”
Writer: Mikail Bakunin
12 January 2012, 5:27 amCaroline Johnson – Orlando, FL
Giving a fully stocked bar to someone the age of 21 years of age comes with a lot of responsibilities. Which I would imagine is very hard to do. Good news is you’re able to party at your house and not be out driving on the road. Since it is at Mark’s house at least he can also have people crash at his place when they have had too much. Even though it is just a basement bar personalized napkins sound like a great idea to add to the personality of the bar.
12 January 2012, 9:30 amPenelop Mydaln
One of my high school friends is coming back from the army and it is time for me to assist him to assimilate him back to civilian life. I am definitely considering taking him to a bar so he can socialize and meet some new people. Since he has a big appetite, the burgers and fries would also really help along with a cold beer. It would be a great “welcome back” message.
12 January 2012, 11:16 amJenna Allen
I’ll be 25 on August 25. & I’m not looking forward to any gifts. I know the day will be special because all my sorority friends are here. Hopefully, I get an awesome birthday party that I will never forget.
20 January 2012, 1:00 amSam Mitchell
Make up your own or make sure you always have the ingredients to master a popular drink. Contests are always good and happy hour prices all night on one weekend night would attract people. Try to never have a cover charge. Give the place a specific style or decoration look and go with a DJ to lighten up the mood.
20 January 2012, 1:01 am