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| - I think the Hop is becoming a victim of its own success.
It's nestled in an old house just off of 1st SW, and while it's been gutted to make an open space it still has that home-like feeling. It has great music (and they take requests. They once hooked up a friend's ipod!), tasty bar food favourites (try the nachos!), an awesome array of local beers and often resembles your super-cool friend's low-key house parties. There are pool tables and foosball upstairs, a balcony, and a variety of tables and benches to rest your drinks and hang out with your friends. For these reasons and more, I make my way down here pretty often.
The crowd is mostly made up of younger hipsters in their twenties and thirties looking for a quieter night out, and that is kind of the problem. Back in the day, before it became a "destination" you showed up, grabbed a table and settled in. Now on weekends the place is so crowded it can be very difficult to find a place to set your beer, much less sit down. There are only so many people you can squeeze in a house before it starts getting cramped, sweaty and a lot less relaxing. Not to mention the lines! The Hop has a tiny little bar that can comfortably fit only two bartenders. On a busy night it is not unusual to have to wait ten to twenty minutes to grab your drink.
My solution: we can just open a few more side-by-side so that everyone has a place to people-watch while keeping it on the down-low.
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