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Here’s what it looks like inside the new Charlie’s

Sometimes you want to go where everybody knows your Twitter handle.

The new Charlie’s on Broadway opens Thursday with an all-day happy hour to celebrate its grand re-opening. Here’s what the old girl looks like all cleaned up and with a new coat of paint. Nearly everything has been rebuilt except the old table tops which have been refinished. The new ownership showed a little self control despite its sports bar roots — CHS only counted six TV screens in the new Charlie’s. Old timers will likely be shocked to find new lighting illuminating old features that used to only exist in partial darkness. You’ll even find power outlets at the bar for getting a little work done at the watering hole. You may still need to walk home to use the bathroom, though — Charlie’s old restrooms are pretty much as-is save the new sinks. The new prices aren’t too shocking — where else you gonna get prime rib for $14? You can get a Manny’s for $5 or a bottle of Budweiser for $3.50. You’ll live.

As for food and drink, the drinking options have increased while the unwieldy menu has been trimmed down. New co-owner Kelli Kreiter told CHS part of the reason for the changes is they couldn’t get some of the old recipes but previous owner Ken Bauer and management came to an agreement over continuing the Charlie’s name. Let us know if the Monte Cristo and the mozzarella sticks measure up.

Bauer helped open Charlie’s in 1976, taking it over in 2000 after the restaurant’s namesake owner passed away. As the end of the lease agreement approached five years ago, Bauer started looking to sell but found no buyers. CHS broke the bittersweet news of Bauer’s long-awaited retirement and Charlie’s closing in June. The Lodge Sports Grille deal to lease the space followed.

Charlie’s is open (again) at 217 Broadway E. Hours are 9 AM – 2 AM daily with happy hour from 3 to 6 PM and again after 10 PM. You can learn more at charliesonbroadway.com.

UPDATE: Further enabling you to remain a shut-in, here are a few images from the grand opening. Contains: food.

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Welp
Welp
8 years ago

So much for the quiet ambiance. Looks like they jammed in as many tables as they could possibly find. I’ll miss having a quiet place on the hill to have dinner.

tkin1t3asy
tkin1t3asy
8 years ago

One look at the menu and they have already lost me as a frequent customer- Why would any self-respecting restaurant/bar go Pepsi?

Tradition
Tradition
8 years ago
Reply to  tkin1t3asy

Theyve always used Pepsi

Fancy Pants
Fancy Pants
8 years ago
Reply to  tkin1t3asy

I’ve always been a fan of the Deluxe and their RC Cola/Diet Rite offering. Coke can go fuck itself.

Jerrylange@comcast.net
8 years ago

The place is great. Clean, inexpensive. Pleanry of tv’s to watch sports. Badly needed up here. Unpretentious

Carla
Carla
8 years ago

They quit carrying the Ravenswood Red Zinfandel and took down that great old photo from the strip joint in Amsterdam. Boooo!!!

bitter and annoying
bitter and annoying
8 years ago

They used to use Hunt’s ketchup which didn’t have HFC, but they switched to Heinz. Unacceptable. I will never go there.

JakeVcookSEA
JakeVcookSEA
8 years ago

Erh mah gerd they don’t have that shitty salad with the shitty dressing, or that one shitty obscure thing I liked that one time I went there. So much for everything being the way I like it. GET OFF MY LAWN

iluvcaphill
iluvcaphill
8 years ago

Me and the boyfriend went there tonight and the mozzarella sticks didn’t disappoint! Burgers and cocktails were good too. At first I thought it looked a little vast but they did a great job. It’ll be a great place for large groups. The only criticism I would have is that service was a little slow and scattered, but it was their first night! We’ll be back for sure.

c doom
c doom
8 years ago

It did not suck. Minor quibbles only. I’ll miss the wall separating the bar from restaurant, but I see why they did it, to open the space up.

Will have to see how things evolve, but I’d say there is a good chance it’s going to work out fine for a majority of the old audience, plus attract some new.

They need to get their parking lot back. Turning that over to Diamond really sucks. One of the great things about old Charlies was you could just pull in and park.

douglasm
douglasm
8 years ago
Reply to  c doom

The stained glass that separated the bar from the restaurant side is being cleaned/restored. The small “Charlie’s” sign that’s hanging there now will be replaced when the glass is ready. They just weren’t ready in time for the opening.

Mars Saxman
Mars Saxman
8 years ago
Reply to  c doom

Yeah, I loved the parking lot – in fact I ended up eating at Charlie’s by “accident” a good number of times over the years, after failing to find parking wherever I’d intended to eat. “ah, fuck it, Charlie’s is fine”.

iluvcaphill
iluvcaphill
8 years ago
Reply to  c doom

We asked about the parking lot. It appears when the old building owners sold they sold the parking lot to Diamond, so there is no chance for them to get it back, they don’t own the property anymore. You can always park cheaply at the Joule, it’s cheaper than on street parking now, I believe.

c doom
c doom
8 years ago
Reply to  iluvcaphill

Well that is a damn shame. Diamond Parking probably threw money at Ken Bauer and he had no reason to refuse.

Eric
Eric
8 years ago
Reply to  c doom

I do’t think that Ken owned either the parking lot or the building.

Silverback
Silverback
8 years ago

I never trust the food if they can’t spell the menu items.

Erica
Erica
8 years ago

So no tortellini? ?? Chicken fried steak and eggs?

dc
dc
8 years ago

I think it’ll do fine… couple suggestions from me and my friends, though:

-Dim the lights! It was like a pharmacy in there!
-If there’s no game or requested show on, don’t just put some random channel on the TV. Last thing I want to do at a bar is stare at advertisements. Show an old movie or episodes of Cheers.
-$4 for tallboys? Come on! They’re $3 up and down the street.
-Bring back that divider!
-Back bar feels way too open up top. Bring back the little roof thing.

Overall there’s no problem with having another spot for people to grab a beer, a burger, and watch the game. It’s not the old Charlie’s but it’s also not a Lodge. Let it get seasoned again and it’ll settle in all right.

Eric
Eric
8 years ago

Much louder than before.
And a much smaller food selection.
And a very long wait for food to come out.

Earl
Earl
8 years ago

was not overly impressed, my girlfriend sent many years sitting in the booths in the front getting work done, we went on many dates there & now there’s 6 booths along the wall right across from the kitchen area. I asked for a burger cooked medium well, got it cooked medium, it still was tasty but I hope that was just due to mad rush of it being the second day open and not a trend. food was great otherwise. Our server was wonderful and made us feel welcome despite the delays in getting silverware and such, she got a nice tip for clearly meeting the challenges of what looked like an overwhelmed staff. It’s the atmosphere that sadly is no longer the same. Before it was a nice neighborhood place where you could sit down, relax, hang out & socialize with friends. now it’s a place where you’ll go eat, maybe be able to hear the person next to you over the noise and leave as soon as your meal is done. I’ll still go there on occasion but I’ll be looking a new place to hangout on Capitol Hill on a regular basis.

Casey
Casey
8 years ago

Worst place I have ever worked. They had s chance to be a great place but the head chef is x military and one of the rudest people I have ever worked for. No one would work for him and 5 cooks walked out the first week. The food was terrible and he blamed everyone but himself. 1.5 hour ticket times like 4 different days. Then they cut me once before lunch even started and asked me to come back on but I couldn’t because I had an interview somewhere else and they kept my tips that day. Do not support this place.