Day drinking in a bar that sells food is somewhat acceptable. What's a beer with lunch?
Day drinking in a bar that doesn't sell food is somewhat soul-crushing.
Final Destination doesn't sell food, aside from a few snacks and TJ's Pizza, so there's not much of a lunch crowd. Tucked behind a hill in a St. Ann strip mall, the bar's clean and spacious, filled with video games. Posters from the first three Final Destination films overlook the pool tables. Bright sun filters through the windows of the otherwise dark room.
Taps include Schlafly, Boulevard, and PBR in addition to the usual Bud products.
"You want a 20 or 25-ounce?" the bartender asks.
It's barely noon. Stick to the $2 20-ounce.
Despite all the signs declaring that they card everyone, they don't.
One lone patron at the end of the bar drank a bottle of Busch Light with three packs of Marlboro Reds stacked in front of him. The bartender tries to engage him in conversation, which turns into quiet chit-chat with long pauses. They watched the channel five midday news, then stare out the window at a worker doing parking lot repairs.
At 1:00, they note two men walking across the parking lot, one retired and one semi-retired. The enter, raucously shouting happy birthday to the man who's been at the bar.
"Yeah. It's just another day," he says.
The newcomers fire up a pair of skinny cigars. They brought their own instead of buying the ones offered for 75 cents apiece behind the bar. Birthday talk shifts to discussion of Medicare benefits for the mother of one of the men.
Perhaps it's different at night, and people order drinks that utilize the chocolate liqueur and bubblegum-flavored vodka with young'uns who need carding and get the pun of the movie posters.
Perhaps at night, birthdays are celebrated and not just endured with free beers and a pile of smokes.
Final Destination 10660 St. Charles Rock Road St. Ann, Missouri 314-423-1100
