This week marks the 4th anniversary of one of my favorite bars in town, No Wake Zone, which is owned by two of my favorite people in the world, Pete and Linda Clarno! No Wake Zone was one of the first bars I visited way back when I started the MBIP blog over three years ago and it’s been a regular stop ever since! Let’s go and wish them a Happy 4th Anniversary!
Okay, it’s about 5:30 on a Thursday evening and as usual, it’s just way too fucking bright out here for me. The one thing I do miss in summer about winter is how it gets dark around 5PM. But the tradeoff is that there’s no ice and snow, so I guess I should quit complaining...but that’ll never happen! Okay, here we are at No Wake Zone, I can’t believe it’s been four years since they first opened up here on Galena Road!
Before I walk the plank inside, I want to point out a special fundraiser going on this Sunday afternoon at NWZ, it’s called, Hags, Bags and Bands and it’s a benefit for the St. Jude Run for the Children’s Hospital. There’s going to be three bands, a bag tournament, a silent auction, guest bartenders, a 50/50 drawing and lots more events and fun! Check out the NWZ facecrack page for more information. Okay, now we’ll walk the plank and I spy a familiar face there at the end of the bar, it’s NWZ owner Pete with Char and since bartender, Taylor photobombed that photo, I took one of all three of them!
Here’s the owners of No Wake Zone, Linda and Pete Clarno! I got them a couple of 4th anniversary gifts from Relics gift shop to celebrate and thank them for all the good times we’ve had here through the last three and a half years at NWZ! And in case you missed some of these good times...
Here’s some photos taken through the last three and a half years at NWZ! We’ve had chili-dogs, tenderloins, pizza, chicken wings and I’ve met some really cool people here and had a ton of fun! This is just a small sampling of some of the memorable moments and people at NWZ through the years, as documented by the MBIP Camera!
Okay, that was a fun look back and now it’s back to the future...or back to the present...wait a second, it was last night...whatever! There’s Scott and Scott at the bar and you’ll be seeing Scott again next Tuesday when we have our sandwich of the week, stay tuned for that! Check out the “LOVE” bottles that Pete and Linda’s daughter Stephanie made for the anniversary of the bar, very cool! I took a step outside to have a look at the deck and ran into Tim and Beth who were enjoying the river view! I met Tim a while back and it was great to meet Beth out here!
When I got back inside, my friends Amber and Joe had arrived and they're looking great! I hadn’t seen them in a couple of weeks and it was great to see them and catch up on things, like taking a trip to Belize, Breaking Bad style! You had to be there folks!
Every Thursday at NWZ, they have a cash drawing and Amber took a picture of me picking that night’s winner, but sadly he wasn’t there, so the pot gets jacked up to 300 bucks next Thursday! Call and ask Pete about the rules, he told me about three times and it still confuses me! I'm not good with numbers!
Here’s the NWZ softball team celebrating tonight’s victory! Congratulations on the win!
And it’s only fitting that we ran into Brittany and Jason, who I met here at No Wake Zone over a year ago and we’ve been running into each other here ever since! Our only non-No Wake Zone meeting has been at the Fish House, but all that could change next Friday, stay tuned for that! Brittany and Jason joined Amber, Joe and I at our table and we had a really great evening at No Wake Zone! Fun always happens here!
Pete and Linda told me that this is the oldest No Wake souvenir on the walls! It’s been here since the beginning, four years ago! Happy Anniversary to Pete, Linda and No Wake Zone and here’s to many more! Cheers!
The No Wake Zone Bar & Grill
4925 N. Galena Rd.
Peoria Heights
309-688-4840
Related Posts: Thursday Night @ Mike’s Tavern, Old Chicago & Noir and Whitey’s Tip Top Inn.