Thursday, March 18, 2004
Copyright © Las Vegas Mercury

Mercury Happy Hour Guide: Beer, beer everywhere

Bar chains compete for the neighborhood drinker

Las Vegas has always provided a friendly climate for chain stores and restaurants, and that's no exception when it comes to bars. Among the three biggies in town, there are about 35 chain bars dotting the valley, offering plentiful gambling, cheap suds and quality bar food to the no-nonsense drinker.

Sure, many career barflies groan that chain bars represent a corporate incursion into the sacred space of the neighborhood watering hole. Then again, in a city obsessed with themes, sometimes it just feels good to sit beneath a poster of the Bud Girls, slug a few glasses of domestic schwag and holler for another roll of quarters.

PT's Pub is the 7-Eleven of bars‹there seems to be one on every corner. Founded in 1982 by brothers Phil and Tom Boeckle, the chain has exploded over the past two decades into nothing less than an empire of beer. With 27 (and counting) locations spread across the valley, PT's has succeeded wildly by luring the average joe with cheap drinks, gambling aplenty, quality bar food and ongoing promotions.

The Roadrunner Saloon, with its corrugated tin and saddles, looks as though Taco Bell scored a liquor license. The similarities end there, though. This chain boasts surprisingly good eats that sidestep the "bar food" designation; the menu boasts many made-from-scratch specialties, including the salsa.

You may not think of your neighborhood Magoo's as part of a chain. Its understated, non-cookie cutter vibe belies the fact that there are six locations across the valley, owned by Terry Caudill, who also owns the Four Queens hotel-casino. Magoo's aims for the classic bar-on-the-corner vibe with pool tables and straightforward drink specials.

Timbers is the latest entry in the chain bar biz, boasting a lodge theme complete with fireplaces, trophy antlers and game rooms. The bars feature multiple rooms and niches to create that cozy-cabin-getaway vibe, but the food is anything but primitive; popular items such as tacos and steaks boast homemade flair. If you have a mean thirst and a fuel needle tipping toward empty, just remember: You're never far from a chain bar.‹Andrew Kiralyu=BC8C5F2C