"On the Rocks" to open on Court St next month

I was walking downtown last night, and walked past it. They seemed to be working very hard to get it ready! Looks like a neat place! When do they open officially?

I think they have a soft opening on 6/2 then grand opeining on 6/6. Zach Hacker is set to play opening night.

you would think after all the time you spent at "ricatonis" you would learn how to spell it. War Eagle by the way.

quote:

Originally posted by bama in chi-town:
My sister's fiance is one of the people opening this place. It is in the old Nolan Cole Art Gallery across from Ricatonni's. Sounds like it is going to be first class. They have copper top bars upstairs and down stairs. Bar down stairs is nearly 50 ft. Hope everyone checks it out.

I wish the well and plan on being a customer since I work in the downtown area. I have a suggestion for you to pass on. They need to make their sign stand out. I think I understand that they are going for the old faded look, that will occur naturally in this climate, but for the first few months if they want people to find them their sign needs to POP. So dab a little brighter paint on it guys.

quote:

Originally posted by Small talker:
you would think after all the time you spent at "ricatonis" you would learn how to spell it. War Eagle by the way.

Lol. 99% sure I know who this is. How goes it?

Going good! They put up the now hiring sign today. Looks good in there. Can't wait to have a new downtown spot. When you visiting?

quote:

Originally posted by Small talker:
Going good! They put up the now hiring sign today. Looks good in there. Can't wait to have a new downtown spot. When you visiting?

Probably Father's Day weekend or the weekend after.

yo big brother!! didn't know you posted on here... who's small talker??

Small Talker is da man!

true, he is da man!

What kind of business is this going to be? A Bar? An eating establishment? Both? and if Zac Hacker is gonna be there, I'm there, he is the man for me, I love that guy. He has an awesome voice, and his personality is number 1 in my book. If you have not seen him sing in person, please come, I'm going. Hope to see my "forum friends" there. See you then.

all of the above. it is a bar, and they will serve food. live music at least 6 nights a week

I know Mottzis, the short lived restaurant/bar that was there before, was non-smoking. Will this place be non-smoking?

We could only hope so....

The idea of a non-smoking bar seems kinda silly if you ask me... and I'm not a smoker.

I've been to several bars in the last year in other cities that are non-smoking because of a smoking ban in the city.

quote:

Originally posted by JK Hawk:
I know Mottzis, the short lived restaurant/bar that was there before, was non-smoking. Will this place be non-smoking?

I know these guys well and it's not going to be another Mottzis that's for sure...any many respects! I didn't know the guy who owned Mottzis and I'm not trying to defam him, but this one is going to be done right. They're putting a ton of work (and money) in this thing. I think it'll be smoking unless the city can fanagle the smoking ban in.

From what I've been told they are going to have a sweet line-up for bands the first week. And to top it off on 6/6/08, as mentioned before, Zach Hacker along with David Saint-Romain. Are you kidding me? That's going to be a good night. All I can say is they are doing this right. Can't wait... this will be a bar everyone should check out.

quote:

Originally posted by bama in chi-town:
My sister's fiance is one of the people opening this place. It is in the old Nolan Cole Art Gallery across from Ricatonni's. Sounds like it is going to be first class. They have copper top bars upstairs and down stairs. Bar down stairs is nearly 50 ft. Hope everyone checks it out.

Always nice to see a new place opening, especially with live music. My husband and I will have to check them out. It's a great location near UNA, too. I hope it's appreciated and supported by Florence. If not, I don't want to hear any more whining on here about nothing to do.

if they need workers, i have spare time during the week.

quote:

Originally posted by fordjw:
I wish the well and plan on being a customer since I work in the downtown area. I have a suggestion for you to pass on. They need to make their sign stand out. I think I understand that they are going for the old faded look, that will occur naturally in this climate, but for the first few months if they want people to find them their sign needs to POP. So dab a little brighter paint on it guys.

I disagree. The sign is AWESOME.

Smoking: The downstairs will be non-smoking in the day (upstairs will be smoking), all smoking at night. I'm not sure what time it will switch over. It's not exactly feasible to have a non-smoking bar until the state bans it.

The Sign: They are still working on the sign, and have made a couple of changes. They are intending to add lights around it soon.

If anyone is interested in working they should stop by and fill out an application.

quote:

Originally posted by het8612:

quote:

Originally posted by JK Hawk:
I know Mottzis, the short lived restaurant/bar that was there before, was non-smoking. Will this place be non-smoking?

I know these guys well and it's not going to be another Mottzis that's for sure...any many respects! I didn't know the guy who owned Mottzis and I'm not trying to defam him, but this one is going to be done right. They're putting a ton of work (and money) in this thing. I think it'll be smoking unless the city can fanagle the smoking ban in.

From what I've been told they are going to have a sweet line-up for bands the first week. And to top it off on 6/6/08, as mentioned before, Zach Hacker along with David Saint-Romain. Are you kidding me? That's going to be a good night. All I can say is they are doing this right. Can't wait... this will be a bar everyone should check out.

I actually knew the guy that owned Mottzis, and I'll tell you right now that he didn't run it right. I told him several times that he was running himself into the ground and offered him many suggestions that would have definitely kept him open plus making a profit.

He sold Mottzis for just enough money to break even.

JK Hawk. Shea (Mottzies) did not come close to breaking even. He would close the restaurant to go out to other bars. That is not how you run a restaurant. On The Rocks will be the real deal. I know all these guys well and they are a welcome sight to downtown. There is alot of buzz in my circle. I guarantee you the bartenders will be way better than Mug Shots. And sober too.

quote:

Originally posted by Small talker:
JK Hawk. Shea (Mottzies) did not come close to breaking even. He would close the restaurant to go out to other bars. That is not how you run a restaurant. On The Rocks will be the real deal. I know all these guys well and they are a welcome sight to downtown. There is alot of buzz in my circle. I guarantee you the bartenders will be way better than Mug Shots. And sober too.

I figured that he pretty much lost money, but I was just basing what I said on what Shea had told me personally. But you're right. He'd close down to go to other places. He'd let friends come in and take what they want. He gave away too much free stuff.

I knew he had to be losing money, but I never got to see his books. Hahaha, his books; yeah right!

downtown florence sucks and there are too many old people in the area!

quote:

Originally posted by STAY_IN_IT!!:
downtown florence sucks and there are too many old people in the area!

O.k. you're cool. I'm sure 90% of Florence's population is older than you. If it sucks so bad take action and do something to make it better. Oh wait I don't guess someone 13 or 14 years old can do much can they? Sorry

We should be excited Mike, Randy, and Nick are doing something like this downtown. Would it not be awesome to have three or four places downtown like this to walk to on any given night? If one place sucks go to the next.

i agree het. i always think of downtown mobile and how awesome it would be to have that kind of atmosphere here.

I think this is great & wish these guys the best. We will definitely check it out.

quote:

Originally posted by het8612:

quote:

Originally posted by JK Hawk:
I know Mottzis, the short lived restaurant/bar that was there before, was non-smoking. Will this place be non-smoking?

I know these guys well and it's not going to be another Mottzis that's for sure...any many respects! I didn't know the guy who owned Mottzis and I'm not trying to defam him, but this one is going to be done right. They're putting a ton of work (and money) in this thing. I think it'll be smoking unless the city can fanagle the smoking ban in.

From what I've been told they are going to have a sweet line-up for bands the first week. And to top it off on 6/6/08, as mentioned before, Zach Hacker along with David Saint-Romain. Are you kidding me? That's going to be a good night. All I can say is they are doing this right. Can't wait... this will be a bar everyone should check out.

If it is a smoking establishment....afraid I won't get to check it out. Dang it!

its ok to go somewhere that allows smoking. My brother is highly allergic to cig smoke and he rarely gets bothered at smoking bars. Come on now, dont be a weanie.

and hopefully, with it being two stories, the smoke won't be too bad. plus, it'll be non-smoking downstairs during the day

Ok I just ate there today and the place is awesome! I had the Buffalo Chicken sandwich and it came with those deep fried potato chips like Logan's and TX RH and was only like $6.99? You could add fries for like .99 cents but I wanted to try the chips. Only thing that would have been better was if the bun was different instead of like a hamburger bun. Maybe like a toasted ciabatta bun? But hey other then that, that food was great, service was great, and atmosphere was nice and welcoming. I give 5 stars on a 1-5 scale and I am one to be pretty judgmental on these type on things!

Great staff, great food, great atmosphere, great service, and it's a fantastic looking bar!

I'm a non-smoker and aside from some lame group of guys smoking cigars the cigarette smoke didn't even bother me and I was upstairs in the smoking section.

They have fans going all over the place, it's clean, well lit and a terrific place! I'm so proud of them all for doing this!

quote:

and hopefully, with it being two stories, the smoke won't be too bad. plus, it'll be non-smoking downstairs during the day

Not only is it 2 stories, they are very tall stories. High ceilings, and smoking only upstairs until 10 p.m. (at least, that's my understanding.)

If you don't go, you're missing out.

The signs that nick brought by said that smoking downstairs will be allowed after 10. Otherwise, have to be upstairs.

quote:

Originally posted by kittenfantastico:
Great staff, great food, great atmosphere, great service, and it's a fantastic looking bar!

I'm a non-smoker and aside from some lame group of guys smoking cigars the cigarette smoke didn't even bother me and I was upstairs in the smoking section.

They have fans going all over the place, it's clean, well lit and a terrific place! I'm so proud of them all for doing this!

Hey Kell. Smoke didn't bother me either, but those guys w/ the cigars were choking me out. Dude in the vinyl jacket when its 90 degrees out...im looking at you.

I just got them to fax a menu and it is limited to 4 entrees, chop steak, grilled chicken, grilled Mahi-Mahi and of course fried chicken tenders but the appetizers look good. They also have 5 sandwiches two of that I think I would like are Tomato-Basil-Grilled Chicken Sandwich and the Amaaazing Torta. The extras that you can get on their hamburger is fried egg (yuck), blue cheese crumbles, grilled onions, bacon, cheddar, Swiss, or pepper jack cheese.

They offer a No*Tell Ro* Tel Homemade Cheese Dip that looks good- A classic crock-pot style blend of melted cheese, salsa, and spices. Served with fresh tortilla chips. $4.99

I’m tired of the white cheese dip so this should be good.

Macho Nachos the king Cadillac of all Nachos are $9.99 it comes with chili, cheese, tomatoes, sour cream, jalapenos, with freshly grilled steak and chicken. (I don’t know about that one but for the price they better be AWSOME)

For the kids they offer peanut butter and jelly sandwich with mash potatoes, chips or fries for $3.00. Mac and Cheese for $3.00 and a $3.00 corn dog both which come with the one of the variety of spuds.

I will give it a try probably in mid-afternoon when the lunch crowd is gone.

yeah, they keep changing the rules on me, so forgive me if some of the things i said have actually changed. the smoking issue: during the day, all non-smoking, upstairs is smoking at night starting at 5?? i think, and then after 10pm it all goes smoking. and like kel and mike said, it is very open and airy, so the smoke hopefully won't bother people.

quote:

Originally posted by jamofpearls:

quote:

Originally posted by kittenfantastico:
Great staff, great food, great atmosphere, great service, and it's a fantastic looking bar!

I'm a non-smoker and aside from some lame group of guys smoking cigars the cigarette smoke didn't even bother me and I was upstairs in the smoking section.

They have fans going all over the place, it's clean, well lit and a terrific place! I'm so proud of them all for doing this!

Hey Kell. Smoke didn't bother me either, but those guys w/ the cigars were choking me out. Dude in the vinyl jacket when its 90 degrees out...im looking at you.

You know, I actually started to wonder if he was a vampire... you know first rule of spotting one is their out of season clothing, and when it's dated as well... you know something is up!

quote:

Originally posted by toridyar:
yeah, they keep changing the rules on me, so forgive me if some of the things i said have actually changed. the smoking issue: during the day, all non-smoking, upstairs is smoking at night starting at 5?? i think, and then after 10pm it all goes smoking. and like kel and mike said, it is very open and airy, so the smoke hopefully won't bother people.

I was upstairs in the evening and near the upstairs bar. I do not smoke but barely noticed that there was smoking going on.

What about the entertainment line up? Who is playing tonight? I heard Ben Phillips and Pedo with Zack Hacker, Is this right?

that's what i heard

Just wanted to remind everyone about the grand opening tonight! Live music from 6pm-2am!!

I'm SO excited about this! My boyfriend and I were driving downtown and we saw the sign and I couldn't wait for it to open. I just hope that they don't do like a live DJ or something corny like that (Not Moonpie's prefernce). I will most likely be there tonight, sounds like lots of fun. I hope that they keep good local music alive, because nothing is better than seeing a live band play!

I didn't get to go. How was it? I heard Zack got mad and didn't play. How was Ben?

wrong, zac did play. ben was good, it was SUPER busy!!!! But everyone had fun and everything went well!!

jamofpearls...

I was one of the guys smoking the cigars around 9:00 or so. While I appreciate you not being rude about it while I was there, you have every right to let me know if my cigar smoke is offensive to you and I will gladly move. I do understand that though it's pleasant to me, not everyone enjoys it, and I'm always willing to happily oblige someone as I'm going to have a good time there regardless. I'm opening a cigar shop downtown soon, and in the meantime, I first asked the gentlemen who own the establishment if it was cool for me to have a cigar and they informed me that it was. Please feel free to let me know in a respectful way that it's offensive to you, and I'll respectfully move or put it out (if it's not one that's too expensive! ha) next time.

JR

Oh, and Kitten...

I just noticed your rude post. If I may refer you to my post above to jamofpearls, this "lame" cigar smoker would happily agree to move or put it out if I knew it was offending you. The thing is...you didn't say anything and I'm not very good at reading your mind...especially when i'm paying absolutely no attention to you whatsoever and enjoying the band, food, and conversation with friends. Cigarette smoke is offensive to me, but if it's bad enough, I'll usually just move or deal with it. Why, you ask? Because it's a BAR and the upstairs portion is a SMOKING SECTION. Before you judge a book by it's cover next time and talk about how "lame" the "cigar guys" are, approach me in a respectful manner and maybe you'll meet one of the most respectful gentlemen you've ever met.

JR

I will have to give it to you ALLTALK. You handled that well. I like the smell of cigars even though I have never smoked one. Good luck on your new venture.

quote:

Originally posted by AllTalk40:
Oh, and Kitten...

I just noticed your rude post. If I may refer you to my post above to jamofpearls, this "lame" cigar smoker would happily agree to move or put it out if I knew it was offending you. The thing is...you didn't say anything and I'm not very good at reading your mind...especially when i'm paying absolutely no attention to you whatsoever and enjoying the band, food, and conversation with friends. Cigarette smoke is offensive to me, but if it's bad enough, I'll usually just move or deal with it. Why, you ask? Because it's a BAR and the upstairs portion is a SMOKING SECTION. Before you judge a book by it's cover next time and talk about how "lame" the "cigar guys" are, approach me in a respectful manner and maybe you'll meet one of the most respectful gentlemen you've ever met.

JR

Noted and handled well. True we could just move, however we had a table and we were eating (yes in the smoking section, I understand that). We did move soon after that. (We couldn't until paying out our tab).

Trust me I'm usually the last one to complain about smoke in a bar - I don't smoke but that's what a bar is for. Where I used to live there are not bars or establishments that allow smoking indoors and while I welcome this because I don't smell like a cigarette/cigar when I leave the bar, I don't really think it's fair to the hard working men and women that love nothing more than to enjoy a stiff drink and a cigarette/cigar.

This is just a place to voice your opinion, and while going on for comedic purposes, I'm sorry if I upset you. Sure I could have asked you to put it out but, that's sort of rude too. (You had the right, you paid for the cigar, and I was in the smoking section)

We sat in smoking to allow our friend that smoke to do so. I'm not a smoker, never have been, never will be, but I'm rather understanding to my friends that smoke more often than not.

Smoke on - just don't expect the right response every time, a few harmless jabs on a message board are better than someone giving you grief at you or causing commotion when you're trying to relax in a bar.

I've NEVER been a fan of cigars, my father smokes them and I pitched a fit at our home every time (when I lived there)... Nothing personal!

Thanks for the response and it's not taken personally at all. If you had given me "grief" about it, I would have probably made a joke and acted like I was really really pissed off and then aggravated ya about it. People in this world get way too offended very easily about stupid things and I like taking awkward situations and lightening the mood with laughter. If you see me out again say hello....i was the good-looking one WITHOUT the vinyl jacket on! hahahaha

JR

quote:

Originally posted by AllTalk40:
Thanks for the response and it's not taken personally at all. If you had given me "grief" about it, I would have probably made a joke and acted like I was really really pissed off and then aggravated ya about it. People in this world get way too offended very easily about stupid things and I like taking awkward situations and lightening the mood with laughter. If you see me out again say hello....i was the good-looking one WITHOUT the vinyl jacket on! hahahaha

JR

The comedy approach would have been taken better than actually getting angry, so it's good you would have approached it that way. It's good to know you weren't wearing the vinyl jacket, in 90 degree heat - since my boyfriend and I became fashion critics the moment we saw it.

well, that's my good friend who has his very own sense of style...he dresses very European, i guess you could say. we traveled to Europe a few years ago and he hasn't been the same since. haha I think he wears that jacket everytime he goes out on his new motorcycle....not sure. He's one of my most respected and trusted friends, though I agree with ya on the jacket! haha

JR