News about Clarks Ale House Clarks Ale House: Why anticipation is building for the return of a Syracuse legend Clarks Ale House update: Permits approved, renovations continue Clarks Ale House update: Its coming along, but not in time for St. Patricks Day New Clarks Ale House in Syracuse now aims for opening in early 2014 The new Clarks Ale House: In downtown Syracuse, a reason to walk that extra block? In June, more than 10 months after Ray Clark announced his namesake bar would reopen after what was then a 3-year hiatus, a small group headed to the proposed new location. They stood under the awning reading Clarks Ale House at the corner of South Salina and East Washington streets. (Signs in the bars windows promised the reopening was a work in progress.) Buddies Scott Barnaskey and Dave Scharoun held empty beer pint glasses. Barnaskey held a sign that read Ray in big letters. Next to him, Scharouns son-in-law Rob Taylor held a sign that posed the question: When are you REALLY going to reopen? We cant wait much longer! Now its late September. And the answer is: Soon. Really. Maybe next week. After 13 months, lots of plumbing and restoration work, the installation of a dumbwaiter, and battles with city inspectors and state regulators, Clarks may finally be ready to roll. The State Liquor Authority is processing the bars license -- the word pending appears in the Clarks listing on the SLA web site. The interior looks more than ready. Tap handles are shined and ready to be pulled. Its about time, said Scharoun, a regular at Clarks until its original location in the Landmark Theatre Building closed in 2010. We were thinking wed need to put on costumes for Halloween and bring our sign back out. Why such eagerness over the opening of a bar? It was the only place in Syracuse -- and Im surprised nobody else picked up on this while it was closed -- it was the only place where you could have a good beer and talk to people without having to shout over loud music, or a sports game, or a live band, Scharoun said. You could meet people and have a conversation, or read the paper or do the crossword puzzle. And youd meet interesting, eclectic people. Scharoun and his friends are not alone in a longing for the return of Clarks. In the five years that Ive been covering the dining and bar scene in the Syracuse area, Ive never fielded as many calls, emails or other queries (Twitter, Facebook etc.) about any other place as I have about Clarks. Every time a new sign goes up in the window -- such as the one that popped up this week noting that the state liquor license is pending -- I get a flurry of new emails and calls. In the summer, when new manager Dave Van Norstrand and a crew tested the layout of some outdoor furniture, the calls reached a fever pitch. Clarks built its reputation starting in 1992 when it opened at 122 W. Jefferson St. as the first Syracuse bar to fully embrace the then-new craft beer revolution (and carry interesting imports beyond Guinness and Bass). It offered a simple menu -- centered on a signature roast beef sandwich, with some cheese and bologna platters to mix things up. It won acclaim in national beer magazines. It was also noted for what it did not have: No TVs, piped-in music, jukeboxes or live bands. Entertainment, on odd occasions, was provided by a German singing society, a solo accordion player or some stray bagpipers around St. Patricks Day. In 2010, Ray Clark gave customers a weeks notice that the bar would close due to the Landmark Theatre expansion project. Customers lined up around the corner every day that week for a last pint and roast beef. Clark, who could not be reached this week for comment, has said he wont change much in the new place -- except to boost the number of taps from 22 to 32 and add a few new food options. Thats what long-time regulars like Sally Van Kirk want to hear. I loved the atmosphere -- how there wasnt music and you didnt have to yell over people to be heard, said Van Kirk, who was also a regular at Clarks Trivia Nights, But mostly it was the people you met there, who you got to know because you could strike up a conversation, Van Kirk said. Since it closed, we havent had a lot of contact with some of them. Were going to have a big old reunion when it opens.
Posted on: Fri, 26 Sep 2014 03:05:11 +0000
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