Comings and Goings
The future of The Bar Next Door, pre-holiday fashion shows and what's GO-ing on the next several weeks.
By Matt Lemmon
South Avenue Pizza Deal Close
The soon-to-be-PRing-it Mike Brothers had this first: Tom Muetzel, owner of Ophelia’s Tapas & Wine Bar, will likely be the new owner of The Bar Next Door and South Avenue Pizza Company. Muetzel was pretty short on details for us at press time, but he did say The Bar Next Door will be renamed and will remain a music destination, while South Avenue will continue as was. In his story, Brothers reported that Muetzel plans on turning the bar space into an as-yet-unnamed Irish pub.Muetzel says he has a verbal agreement with building owner Matt Miller, and hopes a deal will be signed in the next few days, with the venues opening by early December. Ophelia’s, Muetzel’s other downtown venture, is in Wilhoit Plaza, a building also owned and managed by the Matt Miller Companies.
• On another downtown-progress note, Bugsy Malone’s owner Wayna Dean told us she hopes to have the expanded Bugsy’s open by the first of December, as well. A project is in the works between Bugsy’s and Marco’s Pizzeria to take over the former Papagiorgio’s space at the corner of Walnut Street and South Avenue.
Fashion’s Second Season
It’s a bit late to unveil the hottest fall styles, but that’s not stopping some Springfield boutiques from holding pre-holiday shows. Two jumped out at us:• On Friday, November 9, retailers 2 Doors Down and Panache Boutique are holding a Fall Fashion Showcase at Icon Nightclub. 2 Doors Down owner Bob Lowe says he expects his vendors alone to give away between $3,000 and $4,000 in merchandise. The fashion portion of the evening begins at 9 p.m., and the only cost is the normal Friday-night admission charge to Icon. Sounds like a pretty hot tip, wouldn’t you say?
• On Thursday, November 15, the south side’s Parlor 88 will host a Holiday Fashion Preview benefiting the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Blackwell’s, Ashby’s and Details Salon will be showing off their stuff. $10 tickets are available at each of the participating venues (including Parlor 88) and include your first drink. All proceeds benefit the LLS. The fashion show begins at 6 p.m.
OZRX Rocks
We blogged about this somewhat joshingly, but southwest Missouri now has its own line of promotional clothing, OZRX, which touts the region’s friendliness, tourist destinations and “hipness,” according to the press release. A kickoff shindig, as well as design contest unveiling, is planned for Saturday, November 10 at 1 p.m. at Branson Landing. Check out OZRX.com for more information.On the GO Front
After the mayhem that was the Sexy & Single Mingle November 1, we’re chilling out on the mega-party awesomeness for a few weeks—even we can’t compete with Christmachanukwanzaakah. Of course we’ll still have GOnection, our monthly social-networking get together: This month’s event is scheduled for November 15 at Indigo Joe’s (1440 W. Republic Rd.), December for the new Clary’s (900 E. Battlefield Rd.). Can’t wait to see you there.• Let this be your first invitation to our newest new event—The Bartenders Bash, a drink-mixing, bottle twirling fun fest scheduled for January 27, 2008 at the Clarion Hotel (also known as the dead weekend between the NFL conference championships and the Super Bowl). We’ll fill you in on the details as they are nailed down, but it’s fairly safe to assume that there will be something there to drink.
