A new bar is seldom unwelcome in a college town and for Ptolemy’s Tap Room, the warm welcomes started last weekend.
Located on the corner of University Drive and Page Avenue in the Cotton District’s “Big Purple Building,” Ptolemy’s had its much-anticipated opening Friday.
Even with opening on a superstitiously-unlucky day, owners Seth and Lesley Adams survived the home football game against the University of Alabama Saturday.
Lesley Adams said that by opening at 11 a.m. Saturday, she and husband Seth attracted Alabama fans into their bar, and although they were not rooting for the Bulldogs, they were good customers.
“We had a lot of Alabama fans come in the bar to have a beer before the game, and then around 5:30 they started leaving for the game but everyone came back later that night,” she said.
The successful relationship between the bar and customers did not stop that weekend.
With a good mixture of old-school music from the likes of Ray Charles and Stevie Wonder and 10 taps of beer, the Adams have attracted a variety of people to the bar since its opening, including senior physical education major Ben Bush.
“They had a good selection of beers on tap and the atmosphere is really chill,” Bush said. “I can see myself going there for a beer again.”
While the Tap Room is nestled in the Cotton District, an area mostly occupied by undergraduate students, the Adams are hoping to draw in more than just the neighborhood.
“We’re trying to create a better place for young professionals and graduate students to go,” she said. “Between the hours of 5 to 8, we want to cater to those people getting off work but we’ll still cater to the college crowd later in the evening.”
The Tap Room’s beer selection is not the only attractive thing about the bar.
They also have a good selection of panini sandwiches to choose from and Lesley Adams hopes to keep them around.
“One thing we’ll offer as a staple is our $4.99 ‘create your own panini’ special,” she said, “You pick two specialty sandwiches and it comes with chips or soup and a soft drink. I also hope to soon be able to start making chili and whatever else Seth and I come up with, we’ll serve.”
Senior art major Brandon Smith is currently serving as the bar’s graphic designer through his public relations in organizations class, which allows students to build a public relations campaign for chosen companies.
He designed several promotional items for the Tap Room including a T-shirt with a logo of a bar tap he designed.
“I’ve actually designed four T-shirts for Ptolemy’s displaying the logo we chose. My goal was to create an icon for the bar so in time, you won’t even need a name to recognized Ptolemy’s, you’ll be able to see the yellow and black and know who it is,” he said. “Outside of the class, I enjoy Ptolemy’s from a beer connoisseur’s standpoint. I like that they are focused on serving quality beer to enjoy instead of serving beer to get people intoxicated.”
Ptolemy’s is no place for underage students with fake IDs who are looking to get intoxicated, as they are strictly enforcing the drinking-age limit laws.
“We are being strict on IDs so we can prevent problems when we try getting our liquor license,” Lesley Adams said.
As for Ptolemy’s future, Lesley Adams has hopes of adding seasonal beers on tap and beginning a pub crawl with the other bars in the Cotton District.
“Seth and I are from Nashville, and we want to bring more music into the city and hopefully, eventually do something like a pub crawl,” she said. “We also are hoping to add Guinness and Abita to our selection of beers.”
Ptolemy’s also has the option of live music in its future.
Lesley Adams said once spring arrives and the bar can get a fence dividing the sidewalk from the brick patio, they will have tables outside and hopefully get live music playing in front of the bar. Ptolemy’s also has no plans of relocating to a different area in town.”We love the Cotton District, the New Orleans feel it has to it and the overall ambience,” she said.
While Ptolemy’s currently does not have a Web site, it is keeping customers updated with drink and menu specials through a Facebook fan page.