Books & Brews: Turning A New Page
- Hannah Patton
- Oct 19, 2017
- 3 min read
Muncie’s newest bar offers up new cultural, and an escape from the normal bar scene
A place for people without a place. This is the motto for Muncie’s newest bar, Books & Brews, which opened Sept. 29. The new Muncie location is the fourth to open in Indiana. The company was originally started three years ago in downtown Indianapolis, and will be opening in six new locations in the near future, including one in Denver.
Featuring hundreds of books, dozens of board games, food and beers, isn’t just a bar. It is also a space for families to dine, students to study and friends to play games together. Employee Sydney Harmon, a senior at Ball State University, said that they wanted a bar with a unique atmosphere for different people.
“We wanted more of a chill environment. Like if you wanted a place to do shots and get crazy, this is not that place. That is one of the reasons we only sell beer,” Harmon said, “We wanted kind of a nerd bar, essentially, I would call it. A chill place who gives people who don’t have a place, a place.”
Walking in, the first steps taken are through the children’s area. There are kid’s books, coloring pages, small tables and an old-school Nintendo consul hooked up to a large TV. On the wall, a hand-drawn silhouette of William Shakespeare, the company’s mascot, watches patrons come and go.
The name of the bar makes sense while walking through the family dining area towards the bar. Tall bookshelves line the walls full of books ranging from classic novels, to political satire, to textbooks on topics such as psychology and gardening.
“All books are donated, some from fellow employees or just patrons who come in. With our Mug Club program, we have a free book exchange, so if you drop a book off you can take a book,” Harmon said.
Once at the bar, friendly faces are waiting to greet newcomers and those who have quickly become regulars. Neatly illustrated behind the bar are five literary-themed beers that have been brewed and shipped from the original Books & Brews in Indianapolis. According to Harmon, once business has steadied, the Muncie location will eventually have two microbreweries in the back.
An interesting addition to the culture surrounding Books & Brews is their “beer it forward” board, where names are written on bookmarks which indicate that person has had a beer paid for them by someone else.
“The idea is that you buy a beer for somebody else, they come in, they drink the beer in any size (10oz, pint, or fill up mug), then hopefully, the idea is that they will then buy a beer for somebody else,” Harmon said, “It’s to encourage people to come out here and get our numbers up a bit more and get more regulars in.”
One new patron and Muncie resident, Rudy, 52, has decided to add Books & Brews to his fascinating bar-hopping routine.
“I like to walk, so on a nice day I Uber it in to like the Guardian, and I’ll walk over to Elm Street Brewery, Savages, the Heorot, and Three Wiseman. Since this place is here, I would walk down the nice river walk and then come over here and have a beer here and probably go over to Big Shots and then Uber it home,” Rudy said, “It’s a whole day and then I get some good exercise.”
Rudy, who has visited every bar in Muncie, said he likes Books & Brews, and will “most definitely” visit again. He also said that he will probably end up purchasing a book from the shelves for only $3.
“I like the location. It would be nice if everything was conveniently uptown, but I couldn’t get some long-distance walking in. At least that gets me a mile of my walking. When the Guardian closed down I was kinda bummed about that because then I couldn’t come to the Guardian and do the walk. So, I’m glad this place popped up,” Rudy said, “I like books and I like beer.”
Books & Brews holds weekly events each week, and invites those who have not visited yet to participate and enjoy the atmosphere of the place for people without a place.
Location:
2100 W. White River Blvd, Suite B
Muncie, Indiana
Website:
Weekly Events:
Monday – Kids eat free; Trivia at 7:30-8:30pm
Tuesday - $3 Mug Club fills; Open mic at 7pm
Wednesday - $3.99 pint night; BINGO at 6:30-7:30pm
Thursday – Tabletop Thursday (board games); $2.50 PBR tall boy
Friday – New Brew Friday; Live music from 8-10pm
Saturday – Live music from 8-10pm
Sunday – Kids eat free
Hours of Operation:
Monday-Thursday – 11am to 10pm
Friday & Saturday – 11am to 12am
Sunday – 12pm to 8pm
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