ZOLA

Went there on a Friday night to celebrate our 30th birthdays.  My friend and I were not greeted well, in fact the waitress acted like we were an inconvenience.  I know, every body has a bad day.  However, for us two moms, the stick that broke the camel's back was when we were told that water was self-serve inside somewhere.  Bwahaha!  We left so quick.  We serve food and water to our kids all day and knew this wasn't the place to celebrate.

OMG....the best thing I can find to say is....the wine was okay, the service was ok. The doorman/bouncer was a Neanderthal. He is ON-THE-JOB though, making sure that quiet, well-behaved adults seeking a glass of wine are aware that he's there and watching them! If you've ever been there, you know which one he is when I say, he's big, immature, mean, angry, defensive, menacing and hostile. GREAT if you have a reputation for problems with criminals , drunks and knife fights. But Really? ZOLA...you need to get this guy a handler! Quick!

Had a BLAST!!!  We were in town for a memorial service and found this bar on Yelp because it had a smoking patio.  We walked up to the door on a Thursday night and Skylar, the doorman, asked for ID and $2.  I asked what the $$ was for and he said there was a band.  The band was currently on break but when they came back they were pretty good.  Not bad for $2.  We weren't sure how loud the band was going to be so we sat in the back.  Evangeline (sp?) was our server.  She was extremely quick and friendly.  It looked like she had quite a few tables but yet no one was ever without a cocktail or food.  

We started to look around and noticed there were quite a few recycled items.  For example, the light above us was an old mailbox that was turned over, bottom removed and turned into a light.  There were old tilt-a-wheels on the second floor that served as booths.  There were old license plates on the wall to give it that industrial feel without using sheets of steel.  Way cool!

We ended up sitting at the bar that night talking with someone we met on the patio.  That's where we met the bartender, Tyson.   He was talkative, outgoing, FAST and friendly.  We stayed until close.

Friday we hit some other places with the family for happy hour.  Once the family went back to the hotel, we were going to explore downtown a little more.  After an intense, lengthy conversation that lasted 5 minutes and we were back at Zola.  Skylar greeted us at the door and remembered us!  We went inside for drinks.  We were standing behind some people sitting at the bar when Tyson looked up.  "Jeff!  Jen!  The usual?" .  Are you kidding me!?!?  He remembered our names and what we drank.  My first thought was what did I do last night to make him remember me???  The place was packed and the band was even better than the one the night before.  We managed to get seats at the end of the bar and the next thing I know Evangeline is behind the bar (bartending tonight rather than serving) calling us by name as well.  What did we do last night?  We stayed until close again this night.

Yes, we went back again on Saturday.  This time, no discussion - straight to Zola.  We took my mother-in-law and step dad-in-law and they had a blast too!  The band, a different one again, was pretty good.   Not as packed as the night before, but a very good crowd.  They don't mess around here - they card everyone, the drinks weren't overly strong or overly weak either.  We didn't get a chance to try the food but we def will next time we are in town.  Apparently, we drank them out of Stoli, Skyy and Absolut (maybe it was Ketel).  Don't judge, we were on vacation! (sort of).   If we lived in Spokane, this would definitely be our local neighborhood bar.  It has a comfy feeling and the staff is divine!  Kudos to all of you!