There are three places or events that, sadly, will no longer be on the beat:
— After years of karaoke that took place regularly at the Sports Club, the singing that was held last Saturday will be the last call … at least for a while. The restaurant and bar had held karaoke either weekly or monthly, without hardly ever missing a beat, going back to the early days of Jams by James, who was one of the first practitioners in this area and gave rise to others. But now its being discontinued, at least for now, because of cost issues concerning licenses.
— It seems there is no one in Hudson who does not know Monique, of Pub Monique fame. The place was very popular in Stillwater for a couple of years, and a lot of Hudsonites went there, if for no other reason than to say hello to the proprietor. Then they would come back here and share stories of lore concerning their trip, like the guy at the bar atDick’s Bar and Grill who said, how did that go again, that a close relative of his ex-wife went to high school with Monique back in the day. But alas, the pub has closed because the rent was too high.
— Last weekend marked the first time in years that North Hudson’s Al Heidenreich did not cook up all the wonderful food and drink for his twice annual Packer-Viking game party. The booya was only the start, however, as Heidenreich turned his entire basement and multiple additions to his house into a great big sports bar, with one room of it flowing into another, for football parties extraordinary. The big additions were outside without walls, but more like the Metrodome than Lambeau, were well heated and had TVs stuck into the rafters. For one party, he even made his driveway into a replica of the Metrodome. But what might be the most over-the-top thing Heidenreich did was lug another replica, a lifesize one of the Stanley Cup, around to all the local sports bars and get it autographed by dozens and dozens of fans.
— Carmen Electra was on one of the talk shows the other day, and talk came around to her ex, basketball player and actor Dennis Rodman. A friend of mine who is an on-again, off-again regular downtown is a friend of Rodman’s, having met him at a photo shoot. They still keep in touch. Ironically, on the talk show the topic shifted from Electra and Rodman to an audience member asking how many piercings are too many. Rodman probably would have an opinion on that question.
— Hanging out at Ellie’s on Main can be profitable. A bouncer there said he found just laying on the floor a diamond earring and a token for a free drink at Woody’s in Bayport. Not being a regular there, gave the token to me. Thank God he decided not to toss the earring my way.
— A few days later, at the Village Inn, a friend of mine named Joe volunteered to buy a drink for (1) himself, (2) another regular named Joe and (3) myself, also being named Joe. I had been expecting a fourth Joe, who is really into fishing, and could have fished for a free drink himself if he had already been there. Depending on the drink of choice, that could have made for — drum roll please — four cups of joe.