The Mix is a gay bar but with so many straight couples here it really might live up to the namesake of being mixed. It is good to see everyone gets along well!
On a weeknight the bar would be fine and spacious but on a Saturday night it is jammed packed and difficult to move around. Very difficult!
There is no dance floor and they were playing karaoke there on the lower level. Not quirky enough like the big city bars for me to get into too much. On a busy night here it seems like you have to be a doer and not a observer(people watcher) or else you are in the way of others.
Overall not all that impressed. I might like weeknights better, we will see.
The Mix, The Mix, It's All In the Mix
Twinks, Bears, Jocks, Nerds
Come and take your pic
Granted it's no Seattle
Really no contest nor battle
But based on Advocate dot com
Seems like Tacoma is da bomb!
The gayest city in the US
Tacoma is numero uno, the best
And where do the gays go to get their fix
Well of course it's at The Mix
The Tacoma gays are super cool
No pretentiousness, no bitchy ewwwws
So come on down and grab a friend
Gay, straight, or lesbian
Because the Mix is your first stop
In any gay or straight bar hop
Drink, dance, or karaoke
You'll smile and say that's okey dokey =)
Its certainly more than you would expect from a tacoma bar, the atmosphere is an interesting combination of dive bar and that regular place you'd call your home bar.
They also have great special events where they convert the stage into a dance floor which is a lot of fun albeit small. The staff are attentive and friendly.
All around a great place but not really the 'seattle bar' a lot of people are looking for.
How do I even begin to express how much I love this place?
Being from Texas, I grew accustomed to an environment where everyone sticks to "their" bar, usually divided by some kind of demographic. Well, this is not the case here. The aptly named Mix is by far one of the most diverse places I've been to. The people are great, the drinks are great, and the people that work there make the whole experience even better.
They are a paramour for positive energy in the community, and you will always see them around town supporting other businesses.
All of that aside, the music is always great. The drinks are delicious, and the entertainment and staff are first rate. Great job, guys!
HELLA AWKWARD, TURNED MEGA AWESOME!!! Â My cousin got married in Tacoma a couple of months ago, and a small posse of my cousins and siblings decided we ought to go do karaoke after the reception died down. Â I am the ONE person who a) lives in Seattle and b) has ANY involvement in the queer community. Â I'm a bi girl, have way more gay than straight friends, and Cap Hill is my stomping ground. Â BUT! Â I had not been to the Mix before (just Googled "Tacoma karaoke") and we went) and I honestly didn't know it was a gay bar until we walked in to a PACKED house. Â I was like "YES!!!", but a few of my family members (no conservative jerks, just unexposed peeps) were like, "Oh... um... is this a gay bar? Â I'm not sure I'm ready for this..." I was bummed, since it looked awesome to me, but I didn't want to make anyone else feel wierd (least of all the other patrons) so I struck up a conversation with a dude out front to find out what else is in town. Â Turned out to be a manager (driving me crazy that I can't remember his name - I was supposed to write this months ago... Greg?). Â Anyway, I asked him where else we could find good karaoke for a group our size, and he listed off a few ideas but they were all a bit of a long drive away for us. Â He asked what the occasion was. Â I explained, told him about their nervousness/inexperience and he totally reassured me that we should come in and have a great time, all are welcome. Â He went inside and I walked back to my group and told them what was up. Â They seemed uncomfortable still but at that point the manager was clearing some room for us to sit together, so there was no turning back. Â I said, "Come on! Â Seriously, you guys are gonna have a blast." Â SO the manager brings us in and he had literally put a name sign on the table to hold the fort down. Â EVERYONE was super friendly, cool, no dirty looks for being mostly older, unhip breeders, no raised eyebrows for looking like we'd all been through a time warp on Prom night. Â Everyone in my family, at one point or another, found him/herself conversing with strangers, and loved it. Â My older brother and I crossed off a 20 year "bucket list" item - sang Bohemian Rhapsody together - and everyone cheered us on. Â [Stellar karaoke selection and system (and host), incidentally.] I truly feel that this experience was enlightening for people in my family who would have otherwise finished out their lives not knowing a THING about how awesome, fun and NOT scary hanging out at a gay bar is. Â Everyone left thrilled and the family still talks about what an awesome time they had, how nice the patrons all were, and how everyone there made them feel totally welcomed and comfortable. Â Unforgettable.
Review Source:The mix was definitely a hotspot. Â There was karaoke by the pool tables and a jukebox playing in the rest of the bar, so we were constantly listening to two songs at once. Â The KJ(Karaoke Jockey) had no idea how to mix vocals, keeping them far too quiet to even hear a single singer. Â The collection of music was HUGE; too bad it was all PIRATED. Â I hope the management of this bar realizes they can lose their liquor license allowing pirated karaoke.
An active place, yes. Â A migraine within 5 minutes, yes again. Â Will I ever go there again? Â NO.
The bartenders are really friendly and the crowd is not at all pretentious. I mean, how could it be? It's a neighborhood bar and it doesn't try to be anything else. I wish they would clean it up a bit, and perhaps not have karaoke AND music videos playing at the same time, but at least the drinks are cheap and you don't have to get all dolled up!
Review Source:Oh yes, the fantabulous Mix! Since the beginning it has been a resounding success! Walking in as a stranger one can't help but feel totally welcomed and like part of the "family" from the very start.
Many bars have cordial employees and most of them you never see hide nor hair of the management. Not true in this case. All patrons are greeted with a how are ya doing today instead of the immediate run-of-the-mill what can I get ya cliche'.
The crowd is a truly diverse one making the name of the place very fitting. Cool dudes, dudettes, trannys, businessmen/women, neighborhood regulars & everyone in between.....they do a wonderful job keeping the place clean and free of McNasty peeps also.
I cannot think of any place I have EVER been that is more deserving of highest praise in my life. You make tons of new friends, meet up with some old & have a night (or afternoon) filled with great experiences. Hats off to you all making The Mix #1 in my book now and for many years to come. Meet, Drink & Mix. Cheers!
This is my neighborhood bar, and I LOVE it.
Within hobbling distance of my house is the bar of legend. The place where my friends and I catch up over what could probably be classified as FAR too many drinks. This place has spurred some of the most interesting stories between my clan and I like, "remember that night I woke up in a trash can....." and "remember that night that I was trying to break into your house so I could use the toilet..." And boy am I grateful for that.
The bartenders are SO sweet. I love them to death for saving my rear when I walk in going "I need a drink, just make me something!" It always turns out to be delicious, no matter what. (Thanks, Adam, for the random shots!)
I love the pool table, I can cheaply entertain myself with a game of pool while I drink the night away and have a wonderful time. Last week my friend and I even managed to win a round of trivia. Woo hoo!
It's just my kind of place, always a great time, and the people are pretty awesome as well.
I love The Mix. The people, the drinks and the staff. It is a great neighborhood bar. I use to frequent Silverstone and Destinies back in the day, this is a more "grown up" place to visit with friends and have great drinks!
P.S- Casey's reviews for The Mix are a bit much, borderline obsessive and aggressive and not to mention offensive... 3 reviews and blows in a row? Come on! As if the first one wasnt bad enough. Furthermore, what does the rambling on about the police dept have anything to do with the review of this bar? None of his reviews have any impact on peoples opinions of this place, they seem more like rants than reviews. Personally, I think his reviews should be removed.
Great drinks, great prices, great people.
The place was full on Saturday night and the staff really makes you feel welcomed. I am new in town but did not feel out of place. I was very happy with the bartender and my drinks :-).
Good place to hang out with friends for a few drinks, shoot some pool, and/or karaoke.
Will be back for more :-)
Yeah, so i went to a gay bar... Wanna fight about it?
Really impressed with this place - Three levels of seating, the bottom one containing a karaoke bar... The pours are ridiculously generous and cheap and the regulars are mildly hilarious. Â It's a pretty dimly lit spot, which I actually prefer, although it makes it harder to convince Drunky McBaldy that I'm not there searching for a boyfriend. Â
Anyways, good place - fun times... I would even argue that overall, gay folks are more fun to hang out with and much more pleasant drunks than the rowdy college bros that frequent most of the other Tacoma hot spots.
Good people. Love the karaoke and a nifty place to have drinks with friends. It's a good "mix", for sure. Their manager was also approachable, easy to talk to and a super nice guy. Always love businesses with great people -- They're what make the visit worth the while. Looking forward to my next visit.
- Alex B.
a funny thing happened on the way to the laundromat...
so i've been away from home since last monday and am all out of clean laundry. i was walking down the street on my way to the laundromat with my big backpack full of clothes on. i'm wearing my black vans, cut off corduroy shorts, a tie-dyed t-shirt, my beanie, and sunglasses. i see a window that says "happy hour 2-7." look at my watch.. 6:42.. yess! so, i look around and the closest door i see is off to the right at "puget sound pizza."
i walk in and ask the girl behind the counter, "is happy hour still goin' on?" she says, "umm.. i'm not sure, ask the bartender." so i walk on over to the bar area and the bartender looks at me sideways and goes on with his conversation. i stand there for about 30 seconds with my arms crossed before he looks at me and says what's up. i ask him if happy hour's still on and he says, "nope." i asked him what time it ended (because i thought it ended at 7?), he scoffs and replies with, "before now. it's over." i say "pff, thanks dick." and walk out. so yeah, fuck that place.
so i walk back over and look at the window, then see that it's for a different bar called "the mix." i go to walk in one door and there's a huge industrial fan on the ground blocking it. there's a guy sitting near it and i ask him if there's another entrance; he points me in the right direction. on my way to the door there are two dudes smoking outside that look at me kinda funny. not so much weary, but inquisitive. i walk in and notice an older dude at the bar, and a table of 6 or 8 business-looking men to my left. that is when i think to myself, "hmm... lotsa dudes. am i in a gay bar?" but then a kinda cute bartender girl walks out so i dismissed it. she asks me what i'm drinking, lets me sample a couple of beers, and i choose one (new belgium hoptoberfest, it was meh.. the least of all evils). i notice the back of her shirt when she goes to pour it... "be gay" it says.
i chuckled to myself and think, "ha, fffuuuuu..... ah well, roll with it." i grab a coaster and sit down. the coaster says, in rainbow comic sans,
The Mix
Make Good Choices
Name_ _ _ _ _ _ Phone # _ _ _ _ _ _ _
so i decide to chill and look around and that was when i have the total realization. like in the movies when the protagonist isn't sure about something, but then he looks around and realizes how in-your-face obvious everything is... rainbow colored BUD LIGHT signs, dudes, more dudes, a couple other dudes, and donna summer on the juke box.
that was when i notice this man walking toward my table, which only had one barstool and i was sittin' on it. he looks like he's in his forties, probably played football in college, getting fat, balding, goatee, wearing cargo shorts and a t-shirt that says GRIZ in big capital letters. i think, "nah..." then he grabs a stool (no homo) from another table and sets it down at mine. "FUCK," i think. he just smiles and says, "ah'm just gonna leave this here in case someone's comin' ta meet'cha." i tell him, "ah, no, i'm here by myself," and then i make that face like in 'a christmas story' when ralphie first tells his mom that he wants the red rider BB gun, then grimaces and says, "ooooo," because he realizes he fucked up. but, GRIZ just smiled and walked off.
then my girlfriend called me after getting my text about it. i talked to her about it for a few minutes, finished up, and took off to the laundromat where a sketchy bum asked me for change. i said i didn't have any, and then realized he probably thinks i'm a complete dick for denying that i have change while walking into a laundromat. he stared at me from outside for a few minutes and took off.
so, in conclusion... the mix was cool. the bartender was super rad and gave me huge samples of three beers, and the beer i got was cheap. A+
the end.
The Mix is one of my favorite nightspots in Tacoma.
The people are chill, the bartenders friendly, and the drinks ridiculously cheap (I'd avoid the gimlet though ... it was ... a bizarre experience).
There's karaoke for those who love to belt it out, and two other rooms with stools and tables where you can get away from it if that's not your bag.
Once you've sung your fill of karaoke, you can head half a block down the street for some street hot dogs and dancing at Club Silverstone. Any night that includes both The Mix and Silverstone is sure to be a great one.
The Mix is the kind of place where you end up with a new best friend every time you visit, and you never know what might happen. Getting the urge to dance at their 80s Valentine's Day party this year, we pushed a few tables out of the way and soon had quite the 80s dance party going. Everybody Wayne Chung tonight!
My only beefs are:
A) the bizarre song selection for karaoke. There are plenty of Christmas carols (?), but no Vanilla Ice? And where's the "Wannabe" for the Spice Girls lovers?
and B) the fact that they took away the credit card-accepting photo booth!! Whhhhyyyy!!! I used to bring people to The Mix expressly for that photobooth, and I have quite a collection of photo strips commemorating great nights out. The bartenders tell me that it didn't get enough use, but I can't believe it -- who doesn't love a photobooth? Especially one that takes Visa!
Went here a few saturdays ago. And for a straight man in a gay bar i had ton of fun. The bartender "Jonathan" was fun to talk to and made a good drink. They didn't have my preferred Vodka "Ketal One" but insisted they would have it by the next time i came in. The Karaoke was kinda weak the night i was there not a lot of energy in the room. Other wise lots of cool people to chat. I had a good time.
Review Source:After reading a few reviews of the clubs in Tacoma I decided to go visit. Â My first stop was the Mix. Â It was very small and felt like a maze to get through the space. Â Â After waiting 10 minutes while the bartender flirted with some girl, he finally took our order. We ordered a Lemon drop. 2 to be exact. Â He verified by asking "My world famous Lemon Drops?" Â We said yes. Â It took him nearly 7 minutes to make 2 lemon drops. Â We finally took our $12.00 investment to our seats and began to gag as we drank the horrid drink. Â It was the worst Lemon Drop i have ever drank. Â
The music was a mixture of every type of music you can think of with intermitent Karaoke. Â It was a horrid mixutre of music from any club i have attended. Â
With all that being said we just decided to leave. Â It was worth our time nor our money.
Yes I did like the Mix and it's atmosphere of acceptance of all. Â But my attitude has changed, the management and staff has expressed an attitude of superiority over their customers, especially their disabled customers. Â Personally I was accosted by a staff member who called me a "retard', Â I brought this to the owners attention that I was degraded to no avail. Â I never thought a fellow Gay Man could be so callous as to brush off something that affects all of us. Â If disability discrimination is permitted where is it going to stop? Â
Now I admit I am the most articulate person when I speak but I am far from being a 'retard' I hold a Doctorate, a Masters In Public Administration, a Bachelors in Public Administration and those were earned in the last ten years. Â In the prior years I held an MBA although due to an injury I had to go back and relearn those articles I lost due to an injury. Â
Now to have someone call me 'retarded' is a GROSS DEMEANING COMMENT and to have Brock (one of the owners) agree with the employee is very hurtful.
THEREFORE IF YOU ARE A CONSCIENTIOUS person who who believes in the equality of all human beings I would deeply discourage you from spending your earnings at this establishment.
Update:
2/06/2010
This is still unresolved and the bar owner has failed to address any of the issues I have brought to his attention. Â And no I have step foot in this establishment since this unfortunate incident. Â Therefore I strongly encourage you to not patronize this bar. Â It is not a supportive atmosphere for people with disabilities nor if you not in your twenties.
another update
12/05/2010
Please please stop spending your hard earned money here...Last night I ran into Brock and tried to have an adult conversation with him but to no avail for he still called me a retard and told me he wanted nothing to do with me. Â SO I told him to keep his employees inside the bar so I do not get harrased just walking down the sidewalk. Then he said whatever 'retard'.
Honestly I never pictured Brock being so hostile, although I suppose if you are older and walk with a cane he feels it is alright to treat you .like shit.
Last week his partner even expressed his discouragement over Borks behavior....Jonathan had nothing good to say about Brock and the way he treated others including himself.
Why can't he just backoff for pete's sake it has been two years, get over it and if you cannot handle criticism maybe you should not  own a bar, you think?
I came here by accident one time when I was trying to go to karaoke at Puget Sound Pizza. Same cross streets, same building! I saw the karaoke inside and stepped in - and boy am I glad I did! The crowd was so much more down to earth and friendly than PSP and I had such a great time. What a great place! Karaoke is on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays.
Review Source:The Mix is fun. Fun people. Fun karaoke.
Echoing previous review though, the owners are very accomodating and welcoming and cool ... wish the same could be said for the female bartender on duty the last few times I've been in.
I think said bartender added drinks we didn't order on our tab, it's happened two times now, recently.
But I still love The Mix.
The Mix is definitely a nice place to sit down and have some good drinks while you visit with friends. Â I, unfortunately, have visited only a handful of times but am always greeted as if I am one of their favorite regulars. Â Everyone, from the staff to the patronage, is friendly and the atmosphere is laid back and relaxed. Â It's the perfect place to wind down.
Review Source:
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