Live, from MBIP World Headquarters, it’s The Third Annual Christmas Tour with Kevin and Star and special guest stars, Cindy, Morgan, Scott and Laura and featuring the man who’s always destined to get a lump of coal in his Xmas stocking, Marty Wombacher. Now from the MBIP World Headquarters, please welcome this week’s hosts, Kevin and Star!
The Hosts And The Holiday Beer Cheer
As I’ve mentioned many times here, I don’t blog about my night job. That can only lead to trouble and since this blog doesn’t produce a paycheck, that’s about the only thing I won’t talk about on here. However, I can mention that today’s hosts and tour guides are not only two of my friends, but also co-workers of mine and there they are at the MBIP World Headquarters door, Kevin and Star looking fabulous as always! And they’ve brought some holiday cheer to start out this tour! It’s a six pack of Merry Fistmas Holiday Ale! Ha ha ha, I love it! Tonight is our company Christmas party and dinner and Kevin, Star and I have made a tradition of taking a little road trip before the party. As always, they’ve planned all the stops, so away we go!
The Spotlight Stop: The Vault Bar & Grill in Danvers, Illinois
I can’t do a full-blown MBIP picture thingy at all the stops, so we decided that this would be the spotlight stop where we hang out for a while and have some appetizers. This is The Vault Bar and Grill in Danvers, Illinois and I’m already impressed with it by the looks of this place. It’s an historical building here in Danvers and it was originally The Farmers State Bank and the original signage is still on the outside walls. Let’s go through the vaulted door and see what’s happening in here on a Saturday afternoon!
Wow, this is a popular spot in Danvers! It’s early in the afternoon and the joint is already packed! We squeezed in at the bar and were greeted by Morgan and Cindy, the two pretty and friendly ladies working behind the bar this afternoon! We’re off to a great start and I love it in here!
They have an extensive menu in here and you can check that out by clicking right here. A gentleman sitting nearby who's a regular in here came over and gave us a few suggestions on what to order in here. This is a real friendly place and we took his suggestions and placed our appetizer order!
There’s Cindy starting our order on the grill behind the bar.
A shot from the end of the bar and one of the vintage chandeliers hanging beneath the tin ceiling. Kevin noticed that can of Pabst on top of it! I wonder how the hell that got there and how long it’s been up there?
The wooden breakfront back of the bar is impressive and there’s the quartet of beers on tap. Opposite the bar are wooden booths and this couple is enjoying lunch while playing cards at their booth! I took a photo from the back of the bar and noticed this wreath which looks like a combination of a Christmas wreath and a St. Patrick’s Day decoration! Pretty smart, that way you can keep it up all year long!
Meanwhile, back at the bar, it looks like the appetizer baskets are just about ready to be served! Kevin noticed that the silverware is wrapped with coin wrappers keeping in tradition with the fact that this was originally the town bank. That’s a nice touch!
And here’s the first wave of appetizers and they look so delicious! We got a basket each of Jalapeno Cheese Balls and Mac and Cheese Bites. We also got an order of spicy chili wings, which we were told is a specialty of the house and they were so tasty! That was a delicious trio of appetizers, but there was still one to go...
And that’s the Tenderloin Pizza! Cindy recommended it and none of us had ever heard of or tasted a Tenderloin Pizza and quite frankly I was a little leery of such a combination. But when it arrived it looked fantastic and it tasted even better! The tenderloin was a great and tasty base for the cheese, bacon, pepperoni and smoked ham on top. It was so flavorful and all three of us agreed it’s one of the best appetizers we’ve ever had! The food was amazing and I’ll definitely be back for a full meal!
That's the owner of The Vault, Scott, in between Cindy and Morgan. Scott told us he took the place over about ten years ago after the building had been sitting on the corner vacant for years. He re-designed the inside and created the menu and the place has gotten rave reviews ever since. Scott told us that the upstairs of the building used to be a gentlemen’s club for cards, billiards, cocktails and smoking back in the day and he revived that room as well as the bar. It’s not open to the public, but Scott said he’d give us an exclusive tour of the room and we happily followed him over to the stairs that lead the way up there.
The Hidden Gem Stop: The Exclusive Upstairs Room At The Vault That You’ll Probably Never Get To See
Scott said the room is just for personal use and he keeps it private, so I felt honored he invited us up here and there it is, let’s go inside and have a peek at this place!
Holy freaking moley, this room is beyond cool! My pictures don’t do it justice but it’s like stepping back in time to some exclusive men’s smoking parlor. We all wandered around and marveled at all the treasures packed in this place!
I could live in here and die a happy man! These photos are just a sampling of the plush leather chairs, the lit up booze display and all the cool and vintage knick-knacks and furniture in here! There’s Scott with his girlfriend Laura relaxing in the leather easy chairs.
Scott took a shot of Kevin, Star and myself in the chairs. As you can see, I’m resting up for the rest of the tour! Thanks to Scott, Laura, Cindy and Morgan for a wonderful afternoon at The Vault. I’m definitely coming back and you can read more about them at their facecrack page right here!
Snapshot Stop Number One: Gas Jockey Graphics And The Back Wall Of The Vault
Okay, from here on in, I’m just going to be taking a few photos of the next stops on the tour, because these were just quick stops for the Christmas tour. The first stop is right across from The Vault and it’s another business that Scott owns! Does he own the entire town of Danvers? Anyway, this is a cool building and it’s Scott’s graphic business called, Gas Jockey Graphics. I love the building and the antique gas pump! And if you stand in this location and look across the street, you can see the back of The Vault building and a giant mural they painted on their of classic logos! That’s so cool! But we can’t dawdle too long here, we have more stops to make on this tour before we hit our company Christmas party!
Snapshot Stop Number Two: The Town Well
This is a brand new tavern on Main Street in Stanford, Illinois and it’s so new, there’s not even a sign out yet, but it’s called The Town Well. We went inside and met the owners, Jack and Angie Anderson and they were so nice and friendly! They have a full bar in here and a kitchen too! The grand opening celebration happens on January 6th, 2018 and you can read the details about that party right here. Check out their facecrack page and like them by clicking here. It was great to meet Jack and Angie, but we have to keep moving along!
Snapshot Stop Number Three: Minier Tap
The next stop on the tour is the Minier Tap located in...Minier, Illinois, where else? This is a nice friendly spot and they have a full menu and live music. Read all about them at their facecrack page and now it’s time for our final stop in this year’s Christmas tour...
Snapshot Stop Number Four: Don’s Hide-A-Way
Our last stop is a really unique and fun bar in Mackinaw called Don’s Hide-A-Way. It’s a quonset hut bar and it reminds me of The Friendly Valley Tap in Peoria! What a cool place and they have bar snacks, Butch’s Pizza and live music! And now we conclude this year’s Christmas tour to head to our company Christmas part and dinner and thanks to John and Gina for another fun company party! And thanks to all of the places and people in our stops and I want to thank Kevin and Star for another fun holiday tour! It was a blast and I’m already looking forward to next year’s holiday tour! We’ll see you all tomorrow!
Related Posts: Saturday Afternoon @ Lucky T’Z Bar & Grill and Saturday Night @ Nowhere Bar & Grill.