Scooter's Bar Journal » Ottumwa

Cocanana’s

scooterj — Fri, 15 Jun 2007 17:39:00 +0000

(Ottumwa, IA)

Scooter’s 311th bar, first visited in 2007.

We got our beers ($1 each for 10oz Bud Light draws) and I began looking through my notebook to see how we had done. I did a double-take and rechecked my figures. I was stunned to discover that we had just ordered our 30th drink at our 30th bar of the day, shattering our previous record by 7 bars.

We high-fived and clinked our glasses, sending a splash of beer onto the bar counter. A guy standing at the end of the bar asked what we were celebrating.

“We’ve been to 30 bars!” we said.

“Really? This is your 30th ever?” the guy asked.

“No,” we replied, “our 30th today!”

“Oh my god!” interjected the bartender. “PLEASE tell me you are not driving!”

“Oh no,” we reassured her, “we’re on foot.”

“Well, congratulations, then, and be careful,” she told us as she wiped up our minor spill.

After we finished our drinks and left the bar, we were met in the parking lot by a group of patrons, a man and two women who had heard us talking about our accomplishment. They asked us where all we had been and shared with us a wealth of information about some of the bars we had been to earlier in the day.

1317 E Main St
Ottumwa, IA 52501
US
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(641) 682-1931

The Salty Frog

scooterj — Fri, 15 Jun 2007 17:38:00 +0000

(Ottumwa, IA)

Scooter’s 310th bar, first visited in 2007.

B: Bud Lite 8oz draw – $1.25
S: Bud Lite 8oz draw – $1.25

Right across the street from Scooters, this place had only been open for a couple of weeks tops when we visited.

314 E Main St
Ottumwa, IA 52501
US
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(641) 683-8327
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Scooters

scooterj — Fri, 15 Jun 2007 17:37:00 +0000

(Ottumwa, IA)

Scooter’s 309th bar, first visited in 2007.

B: Tall Kamikaze – $3.50
S: Tall Kamikaze – $3.50

We entered through the back door and discovered that this was a dance club. A bouncer stopped us and told us there was a $2 cover. We don’t pay cover charges so we turned around and left — it’s just not not right to have to pay in order to be able to buy a drink.

We went around the block and found another place. We went inside, another dance club. The bouncer stopped us, but this one said “You guys were here earlier, right?” About then we realized that we were at the same place we had just left the other end of, so technically it wasn’t a lie to say “Yes.” The bouncer waved us on in.

With our stomachs still suffering from a volume issue I decided to order us kamikaze shots instead of beer. But the bartender misunderstood and made us tall kamikazes instead. Still, this was much less liquid than a pint of beer.

When we arrived a man to B’s right began staring very affectionately at him, making B somewhat uncomfortable. The guy then started making some suggestive remarks. Just as the bartender handed me the drinks, B grabbed me and made me trade places with him, spilling some of my drink onto my shirt. The guy that was bugging B took my hand then told me he was going to have my friend “maybe not tonight, perhaps not tomorrow, but soon.” We slammed our drinks and got the hell out of there.

305 E Main St
Ottumwa, IA 52501
US
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(641) 684-4197
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Tom Tom Tap

scooterj — Fri, 15 Jun 2007 17:36:00 +0000

(Ottumwa, IA)

Scooter’s 308th bar, first visited in 2007.

Hotel bar for the Hotel Ottumwa

B: Bud Lite 16oz draw – $2
S: Bud Lite 16oz draw – $2

Our stomachs were so full that these beers were now massive. B had to step outside thinking he would be sick, and I did not think I was far behind. We nursed these beers, trying all we could to get them down.

Finally we were forced to invoke our rarely-used Emergency Stomach Volume Relief Rule. This rule allows us to bypass one large draw by drinking the same amount from the glass as the size of the smallest draw beer we had been allowed to purchase all day. (This rule was last invoked on Cinco de Mayo at Big Nose Kate’s in Salina, KS.) Since the smallest draw we were served today was 8oz, that meant we had to drink half. I drank 2/3 for good measure. This rule is truly reserved for emergency use only since its use creates an automatic violation of the sacred “No Beer Left Behind” rule.

107 E 2nd St
Ottumwa, IA 52501
US
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(641) 682-8051
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Owl’s Nest

scooterj — Fri, 15 Jun 2007 17:35:00 +0000

(Ottumwa, IA)

Scooter’s 307th bar, first visited in 2007.

B: Bud Lite 10oz draw – $1.25
S: Bud Lite 10oz draw – $1.25
We were now both feeling it. Not drunk… full. Stomach volume was proving to be a major challenge that looked likeely to keep us from reaching our goal.

116 S Court St
Ottumwa, IA 52501
US
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(641) 682-9368

Uncle Buck’s Bar & Grill

scooterj — Fri, 15 Jun 2007 17:34:00 +0000

(Ottumwa, IA)

Scooter’s 306th bar, first visited in 2007.

B: Bud Lite 16oz draw – $2
S: Bud Lite 16oz draw – $2
And, again, another zig-zag across the street. This place was also having karaoke, but here it was proving popular with singer after singer after singer. The setup was in the front room by the window which had to help. Upon our arrival B noticced a distinctive-looking fella and immediately nicknamed him “Blonde Jesus”. Beefore we left, Blonde Jesus got up and sang “Sweet Home Alabama”.

518 Church St
Ottumwa, IA 52501
US
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(641) 682-4449

Dugout

scooterj — Fri, 15 Jun 2007 17:33:00 +0000

(Ottumwa, IA)

OUT OF BUSINESS
Shut down in July 2008 after a drug raid.

Scooter’s 305th bar, first visited in 2007.

B: Miller Light 10oz draw – $1.50
S: Miller Light 10oz draw – $1.50
And yet another zig-zag across the street. This bar was divided into two rooms – the front main bar area and a back room. It was karaoke night, with a karaoke guy set up in the front corner of the back room. Despite the bar being crowded, most of the people were in the front room and hardly anyone was doing karaoke. I’m not surprised, though, it was unusually loud in the karaoke room.

535 Church St
Ottumwa, IA 52501
US
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(641) 684-0895

The Keg

scooterj — Fri, 15 Jun 2007 17:32:00 +0000

(Ottumwa, IA)

Scooter’s 304th bar, first visited in 2007.

B: Bud Lite 10oz draw – $1.25
S: Bud Lite 10oz draw – $1.25
A zig-zag across a busy street from the previous bar.

622 Church St
Ottumwa, IA 52501
US
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Front Runners

scooterj — Fri, 15 Jun 2007 17:31:00 +0000

(Ottumwa, IA)

Scooter’s 303rd bar, first visited in 2007.

B: Old Milwaukee 12oz draw – $1.25
S: Old Milwaukee 12oz draw – $1.25
The change to Old Milwaukee was a pleasant switch that helped give us a little bit of a second wind. I think we played a little bar trivia here.

837 Church St
Ottumwa, IA 52501
US
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(641) 682-0720

Primavera Club

scooterj — Fri, 15 Jun 2007 17:27:00 +0000

(Ottumwa, IA)
Formerly Harley’s

Scooter’s 299th bar, first visited in 2007.

Our intention was to pass through Ottumwa for now because we had some business to attend to in Fairfield, two towns further down the highway. But as we reached the eastern edge of Ottumwa we were stopped in our tracks by barricades across the highway — closed for construction. Luckily there was someplace right next to the barricades where we could ask for directions.

B: Bud Lite bottle – $1
S: Miller Light bottle – $1

Formerly Harley’s, this place had just recently been bought by a nice Mexican family and re-opened as the Primavera Club. Our bartender, Lorena, was a former nurse who told us about heer life’s travels. Her friends at a nearby table helped us out with directions around the construction zone so that we could get to Fairfield.

2801 Roemer Ave
Ottumwa, IA 52501
US
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Alpine Inn

scooterj — Fri, 15 Jun 2007 17:26:00 +0000

(Ottumwa, IA)

Scooter’s 298th bar, first visited in 2007.

We circled around this place twice trying to determine if it was actually a bar or not. Finally we went inside and discovered it’s all bar. B bought a beer for an old man next to us that we were chatting with.

1804 Albia Rd
Ottumwa, IA 52501
US
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(641) 682-3311