The Secret Value of Terrible Bars
Hi Wabi-Sabi readers! We’re Ella and Elizabeth. This year, we are doing a series of writing residencies across the USA, which is how we met Wabi Sabi’s magnificent editor Susan Kraus.
We wanted to really get to know the towns we visited during our cross country-journey. And how? We realized the best way might be the worst way: visiting every town’s lowest-rated bar. A person’s garbage is way more revealing than their prettiest picture. That’s why we created our bar reviewing Instagram @The_Lowest_Star.
It’s why we connect with Wabi-Sabi Journeys too — we share the belief that worth exists in the overlooked and imperfect. Below, we’ve recounted our first night visiting a “worst bar” — The Rowdy Beaver in Eureka Springs, Arkansas…
The first thing we noticed when we walked into The Rowdy Beaver? The bold factoid on their chalkboard: “Wombats are the only animals in the world that poop cubes.”
The second thing we noticed? The Rowdy Beaver didn’t seem to be a terrible bar at all. The decor was dark wood, brightened by color-popping bottle cap patterns pasted to the walls. There was a full house of happy-looking regulars, including staff from the bar down the street — a sign you’re definitely in a place that’s good. The vibe was super welcoming. If this bar had a voice, it would have been saying: “Come and visit. You’ll fit in if you’re wearing an unbuttoned shirt and a bra. You’ll fit in if you have a dress shirt and tie. You’ll fit in if you’re drunk and trying to help someone solve a math problem.”
And the value of this worst bar even beyond a great night of conversations and on-point Gin & Tonics? A reminder that life happens off the internet too. Yeah, the Rowdy Beaver has Yelp reviews that seem like they should be business-crushing. But the bustling vibe and host of regulars present there? It was as if the series of tubes known as the internet didn’t exist at all — just that night, that bar, IRL.
