Decatur’s Thinking Man Tavern, now entering its 21st year, will celebrate the benchmark on Sept. 21 by highlighting all the elements that have made the quirky bar successful: local music, specialty drinks, and a solid pub food menu.
The celebration will begin at 7 p.m. and feature a live performance from The Higher Choir and a super jam of local musicians. According to co-owner Davy Minor, Thinking Man will also unveil new seasonal beverages at the event, including a large array of Oktoberfest beers and new fall-inspired cocktails.
New cocktails — all named after songs — include Thunderstruck with bourbon and apricot liqueur; Crazy In Love made with vodka, Joseph Cartron Poire Williams liqueur, and Boomsma Cloosterbitter; and Back in the U.S.S.R. mixing Ukrainian brandy with espresso tequila coffee liqueur, Joseph Cartron Café liqueur, and fresh cream.
Minor and his partner, Alan Conner, who owns Dakota Blue in Grant Park, decided to buy Thinking Man in 2022, despite the restaurant industry’s bleak financial picture in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It was for sale, and we just decided to go for it,” Minor said. “I’ve been in the industry for a long time and it’s great to be able to apply all I’ve learned over the years.”
Purchasing Thinking Man Tavern folded the duo’s passion for music and food into one venue.
Minor has spent the last 20 years working in the music and restaurant industries. He founded the award-winning music publication “Ohmpark” and local record label Deer Bear Wolf. He’s managed and bartended at restaurants like Argosy, Muchacho, and Ormsby’s in Atlanta and been the music director of the street festival East Atlanta Strut since 2015.
Conner opened Dakota Blue in Grant Park almost 20 years ago. He’s played in several local bands, including The BBQ Killers, Needle, and The Higher Choir. Like Minor, Connor took on the role of music director for another popular neighborhood festival: Grant Park’s Summer Shade Festival. He’s been its music director for the last 14 years.
“With so many local institutions disappearing around the Atlanta area in recent years, rather than making something completely new, we wanted to try and preserve Thinking Man, while also making it our own,” Minor said of purchasing the bar. “We kept a lot of the elements that made it interestingly weird and then added some of our own touches.”
Related Link: Read stories from Rough Draft’s series “The Regulars”
What sets Thinking Man apart from other so-called dive bars around town, Minor said, is its drink selection and menu options, which include several vegetarian and vegan dishes alongside pub food favorites.
“We did a lot of little things to tweak the menu and make the dining room more inviting,” he said. “But we also wanted to retain our customer base, which is about 80-to-90 percent regulars.”
Thinking Man Tavern recently became host to an eclectic collection of live events, including Auxigen, an open mic night for beat producers, La Choloteca (a Latinx queer community that throws dance parties, and a monthly Bravo TV team trivia and watch party. A late-night happy hour takes place Monday through Friday with drink specials, starting at 10 p.m. There’s karaoke on Friday nights and a weekly service industry night on Sundays, featuring DJs from local bands such as Omni, Rose Hotel, and Torche.
“We think it’s important to have a place that is welcoming to people in the service industry to relax and enjoy themselves,” Minor said. “Since we are in Decatur, we can stay open until 3 a.m. on Sunday while most Atlanta restaurants are closed at midnight.”
Thinking Man Tavern will celebrate 21 years on West Howard Avenue in Decatur on Sept. 21. The official celebration kicks off at 7 p.m.
Thinking Man Tavern, 537 W Howard Avenue, Decatur.
