The Last Hurrah

The Last Hurrah is located in the Northpoint shopping center off N. Knoxville. It's a couple doors down from Firehouse Pizza. As far as I know this bar has been there for quite some time (at least 20 years). I've been told that during the 80's and 90's the Last Hurrah was "the place to be". Since then I think they've seen a drop-off in attendance which (I think) makes it an even better place to go.

The bartender who works there the most is known as Tex (I think it has something to do with his last name). He's a big dude who looks like he might have spent some time in a boxing ring. The guy is an absolute pro. Tex has been tending bar at the Last Hurrah for 15 years or so. He's a laid back guy with a good sense of humor. I say he has a good sense of humor because he usually wears a Cubs shirt which means he has to laugh off many a (usually bad) Cubs joke, coming from some Cardinals fan. If you patron the Last Hurrah 3 times in a two week period, Tex will most likely remember your name, or at least, your drink.

Beyond Tex there are plenty of other reasons to make the Last Hurrah one of your regular stops. First they have dollar drafts EVERY DAY. Obviously they are served in the smaller 8 oz. glasses but this is still a good deal. They also have cheap shots and good mixed drinks, you know, the ones where you can actually taste the booze!

Second, they have a nice new crackbox with tons of trivia and other games (not quite sure what is all on there, my girlfriend usually plays the machine while I watch baseball) as well as Silver Strike, Golden Tee and darts. There is only one pool table but it's really not that hard to get a game in, except for Thursday nights when the Pool League holds the table from 8ish to 10ish. There's usually this middle aged guy in there who is an amazing pool player and tries to shark people. He's cool but can be annoying, he's got a calling card though so you'll know who he is. So, if you are at the Last Hurrah and a 40 something guy wearing glasses says "I'll buy you a beer if you play me", what he means is "I'll buy you a beer if you play me, then you'll win because I'll let you, then I'll try to get you to play me for another beer, if you do I'll let you win again then I'll start trying to play for money". In other words, if you wanna play a couple games and get some beers cool, but once he starts saying "Awwww c'mon lets play for a buck" prepare to lose some cash.

Beyond the entertainment and cheap drinks, the Last Hurrah has another thing going for it; the TV's! They've got two 40 inch LCD's two slightly smaller ones, and an old rear projection in the corner near the pool table. Now, this might not seem like alot but when you take into account that the bar is only twenty feet long, it is. Not only do they have a good amount of TV's for the size of the bar but the bartender will actually ask you want you want to watch! I've been in there before when the place was almost empty and Tex went ahead and turned every TV on the Cubs game, he even put the sound on, awesome.

So, if you've never been to the Last Hurrah before I'd advise you to check it out. That is, if you like laid back, neighborhood taverns where you can get your drinks quickly and cheaply and watch the game. Obviously, the place must be doing something right, it's been there for a long time, even when the Northpoint shopping center did not have much, there was always the Last Hurrah.