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| - It's really hard to review this place because it is still so new. ( I went for the grand opening on 4/1 as part of first friday.)
To start, I want to say that this place has GREAT potential. I saw several small issues that for now I will chalk up to opening day jitters. However, the staff seems genuine, which is a rarity all over town, and the arts district is no different.
The manager allowed me in even though they weren't quite open, and the bartenders were beyond friendly and all smiles and "thank yous" despite some confusion. I felt like they were truly grateful for my business.
They absolutely stole my heart when I saw they had stocked red plastic "to go" cups to help serve the First Friday crowd.
The stereo system is amazing, and they blasted out a few songs throughout the night at full volume (undoubtedly to show the kiddies what their top notch system could really do.) which leaves me in anticipation of things to come in the music department. Although I have to say I'm concerned about who is doing the music and how...I was there probably a total of 3 hours in and out throughout the night, and at least 2 songs were repeated during that time period. If you are going to have a juke box this is inevitable, but when they are controlling the music I can't image having a playlist so short that you are repeating songs in such a short time period.
Later in the night I moved with a group of Yelpers and we took over the back booth in the front room. The wraparound couch in this section is a great place to meet with a large group or to use as an excuse to get to know your neighbors sitting near you. There is actually a lot of this at Artifice and all of the seating, whether intentional or not facilitates talking to the people around you. I am always a big fan of this in any bar. However, there was only one cocktail waitress for all 3-4 seating areas. So, in short, there seemed to be one girl running around serving 30-40 people, and 4 bartenders serving 20-25 people. This made for a slightly longer wait time for our round of drinks than I would normally be willing to wait.
Artifice could be exactly what the Art district needs, which is a spacious, but unpretentious place to act as a pivot point for the area. It's location on the perimeter of the First Friday blocks but steps closer to Downtown will undoubtedly create a new destination and it's size will easily accommodate the overflow from other places as well as those not wanting to stand in line on weekends.
I'm not sure why they have a 1 am closing time. If this is not a zoning restriction they will most certainly have to eventually extend this. It is just an expectation of the city that will have to be reckoned with. The fact that they have their own lot, alone is going to make this a meet-up destination for the downtown crowd.
Drink prices are practical and right in line with other similar places. I had a single well drink, and two draft Stellas and my bill was $15.
The back area through the curtains is where I'm sure they will eventually set up shop for resident and upcoming DJ's which will make the space less awkward. For now It will just serve as a place to stand while you are waiting on a bar seat or booth table. The art on the walls is unique and fits seamlessly into this area. My understanding is that everything is local.
Artifice is a place to keep an eye on, because as I've already said...This place has GREAT potential.
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