Make Last Call Your First – And Last – Stop

Donna Varney hails from Massachusetts, so she believes she can spot a friendly neighborhood bar like the fictional Cheers when she sees one.

A year ago she and her husband, Kevin Gillespie, discovered what she called a “weird-looking” bar - , 2604 Manatee Ave. E., when the two moved to the east side of town. They visited once, visited again and soon became regulars. The bar had grown on them.

“Then we got to know everybody in here,” she said. “This really is a little Cheers-type bar.”

“Scary” is the word some would-be patrons once used to describe the bar, said Don Raphel, the bar’s manager since May.

So the new manager went to work, removing the black tint from the front windows, cleaning up the inside, adding cable sports packages to draw from that demographic and starting a Facebook page to announce specials and drum up more interest from the cyber community.

Last Call has a small pool room, hosts trivia and bingo nights and even has a machine where you can test your punching power. On some weekend nights one of the pool tables doubles as a Flip Cup table where patrons get in teams of five, stand on opposite sides of the pool table (now covered, and protected, with a Flip Cup board) and take turns chugging a draft beer then trying to flip the empty cup so it sits mouth down. When successful, the next teammate in line drinks.

A classic college drinking game revived in a quirky, Bradenton bar.

Last Call‘s interior has three areas – the main area with the bar, the pool room and a back room with several large tables and a stage for live music. Eight televisions, most of them tuned into the Rays game, surrounded the bar, although the music from the jukebox drowned them out.

Last Call doesn’t serve liquor. It has plenty of beer choices; nine on tap, including the popular domestics, Magic Hat No. 9 and Woodchuck Cider. Several other beers are available by the bottle and Guinness by the can. Drafts range from $1.50 to $3.25, bottles $2.75 to $3.25 depending on when and what.

Wines are $3 a glass. The bar doesn’t serve liquor anymore, but that hasn’t slowed down the fun. In fact, some patrons are fine with that.

“The people that come in here are beer drinkers, not booze drinkers,” said Donna Varney. “There’s no fights in here because there’s no liquor.”

IF YOU GO

Last Call Sports Bar & Grill, 2604 Manatee Ave. E., is open from noon until 2:30 a.m. seven days a week. Thursday night is Ladies Night and specials start at 8 p.m. The bar serves snacks and is smoke friendly.