“Deep Friendship” – People Who Want To Be Welcomed in Saint Anthony Might Consider Taking a Dive

The place forebodes:  

A gap-toothed, neon sign casts its sticky, erratic half-light over the eroded parking lot.  What lay beyond, what can’t be seen is scary…almost as scary as what can be seen. Crinkled, paper goblins ride the chilly wind across the cratered sidewalk.  They billow past silent motorcycles which list before the curb like sinking ships.  

The front door’s hinges complain about each admittance in the same rusty voice.   Inside, glowing pendants dangle from the ceiling, flimsy stalactites.  An acrid wreath of acrid smoke connect the white boards which herald barely-legible specials.  A grainy, stale cologne permeates the vapor as brown bottles appear,  disappear, and reappear like unwhacked whack-a-mole moles.  

Words—blurted, flirted, mumbled,  jumbled, snorted, and shouted–overlap like raindrop ripples in a dirty pond.  A sharp >clack!< from the furthest corner stabs the garbled cacophony, followed by the clackety-clack-clack of billiards sent with a velvet rumble in every emerald direction.  Around the table, around the place, tattered denim and worn leather appear in equal measure.  The place’s vibe is as sure as an unspoken threat:  “strangers beware.”  

The popular stereotype of a so-called dive bar has remained the same for generations…but Saint Anthony’s Andrew Bauman intends to redefine the concept.   “Some imagine a dive bar as a dirty, run-down place where you get three-dollar Hamm’s and greasy, tasteless food,” Andrew Bauman notes, “but ’dive’ is an attitude.”

Attitude, in fact, is key.  “To me, a dive bar is a bar where you feel at home, all the regulars are your friends, almost an extension of your family,” Bauman supposes.  “A place where you can laugh, cry, swear, and tell bad jokes. A place with things to do like karaoke, meat raffle, and bingo. A place you come to just because you love the staff.”  

After Bauman’s own sustained, strenuous, and multi-faceted efforts, that definition has been fully realized.  The Dive Sports Bar and Grill’s website elaborates on its inventor’s priorities:  “We are a simple dive bar designed for a friendly neighborhood. We are here to help everyone celebrate all the small and large happenings that life offers. Whether you’re celebrating a team win, a new job, or the fact that it’s Monday, we’re here for you!”

Six nights a week, that here-for-you-ness takes the form of bar-wide events.  Further, to satisfy patrons’ competitive urges, a game room puts the “Sports” in the establishment’s name, providing darts, pinball, a Big Buck Hunter video game, and even beer pong.  One component that rarely figures into the popular definition of a dive bar will before long come to the fore.  Promises the website, “Late Night Happy hour apps are coming soon.”

Before he could redefine dive bars, though, Bauman had to endure the travail of defining himself.  “Growing up, I never knew what I wanted to do with my life,” Bauman remembers.  “So instead of going to college, I chose to take a job in a restaurant, and that was where my love of the service industry started.”

That start was the beginning of a long and beautiful friendship.  “Over the years, I would work several different jobs from corporate restaurants to night clubs, to hole-in-the-wall bars,” Bauman recounts.  “I had finally found something I loved–making people happy.”  That discovery bequeathed Bauman with a laser-like focus.  “From that point on, owning a bar was my end goal,” Bauman affirms.  “But, I didn’t want to just own any bar, I wanted to own a bar where everyone was welcomed.”

Establishing such an establishment meant finding a place where the would-be welcomer would himself be welcomed.  “The city of Saint Anthony has been great,” Bauman says.  “All the people that work for the city and those on the city council have been amazing to work with.”  This greatness was present from the start, according to the Dive Sports and Grill’s website:  “We opened to a ferocious outpouring of support in the late spring of 2023.”

The reinforcement came in forms more practical than a framed medal and hearty handshake.  “The outpouring of support from the community has been overwhelming at times,” Bauman notes.  “Not just from customers, but from other local business owners. It is amazing to be able to work with so many in the industry.”

Bauman’s Bauman-centric definition of “dive bar” contradicts the older definition in ways big and small.  “I have worked with sponsoring the high school sports program and have been to several different games,” the owner affirms.  “The people in Saint Anthony have been welcoming, and the area is really the perfect place to have a bar like mine.”

That sense of welcome is to be had inside the bar, as well as outside of it, according to Bauman’s definition.  “The Dive Sports Bar and Grill is a safe space for all individuals and will treat all people with respect,” he assures.  “Everyone is welcome here, and we will strive to give them the ultimate experience.”

Bauman’s dive bar diverts from the traditional dive bar in yet another way.  “We have events daily including karaoke. trivia, meat raffle, and bingo,” Bauman assures.  “Our food is Dive Bar style food made with care at a reasonable price. We have a full bar, including [non-alcoholic] options and THC beverages.”

But, in the end, the popular definition of a dive bar and Bauman’s definition of a dive bar do have one critical factor in common.  Proclaims the owner of the Dive Sports Bar and Grill, “The fact that we do three-dollar Hamm’s during Happy Hour is definitely a plus!”

The Dive Sports Bar and Grill
3701 Stinson Blvd., St. Anthony
(612) 208-1603
www.thedivesbag.com