The Hole
The Hole
“The Hole” is located in Woodside, Queens off Roosevelt Ave. Like many places in more urban areas of the City, it is a long rectangular building squeezed between two other similar buildings and has no parking to speak of. From the street, The Hole has two entrances, one on the left next to a large darkened plate glass window with the bar’s name painted on its surface in gold lettering, and one at the far right corner of the building, though this door (which leads to the back bar) is frequently locked. There is no patio area, though there is a decently sized expanse of sidewalk separating the bar from the street. Hole patrons and employees who ride motorcycles tend to park on the sidewalk and, on nights when Paddy’s working or visiting, his green Triumph Bonneville is always closest to the front door.
The Front Bar
Once inside The Hole, patrons enter into a long, rectangular room lined with booths and a few smaller free-standing tables. The front bar runs along the left wall and is lined with battered, high-backed wooden barstools. Décor is simple, somewhat worn, and verges on the practical and cluttered. There are numerous neon beer and liquor signs, and the wall behind the bar is covered with a collage of random items (sketches, photographs, metal signs, swag and odd paraphernalia) along with the expected shelves of liquor.
The walls of the front bar are painted a dark green, though the lights, set on a dimmer switch, are normally so low most patrons don’t notice. They’re also covered with cutting edge ‘artwork’ (the current display is a series of hand-painted skateboard decks), mirrors, two chalkboards advertising upcoming promotions and the day’s specials, one large screened television to the left of the front door, and another smaller television mounted behind the bar. The televisions are rarely set to the same channel and are normally tuned to whatever the bartenders or Paddy happen to be most interested in watching at the moment, though they do occasionally play DVDs or videogames on the big screen.
Beyond the front bar is a long, narrow hallway with bathrooms to the right and the kitchen to the left. The only way to enter the kitchen is to follow the hallway to the very end and push through a swinging door into a shorter hallway before turning right or left. The left side is where the majority of the cooking equipment and freezers are located, while the right hand side is taken up with dishwashing equipment and Paddy’s closet-sized office. From the right side there is also another door leading to the hallway that runs behind the back bar.
The Back Bar
The back bar is roughly the same size and length as the front bar, running parallel to the rest of the establishment and separated by a long wall ending in an archway just before reaching the bathrooms. Employees and patrons refer to it as the ‘back bar’ regardless whether the bar in question is actually open for business. Although patrons may come and go in and out of the room as they please, Paddy normally only opens the bar itself on Fridays and Saturdays, when someone rents out the back room, or when The Hole is particularly busy.
The walls of the back bar are painted black, and the décor is fairly similar to that of the front bar, though there are also two pool tables and a cluster of arcade games lining the walls in the middle of the room. Toward the back of the room is the bar itself, though this one seems to be considerably less cluttered than the front bar, and there are a handful of tables between the bar and pool area. Beyond the pool tables, toward the front of the building, is another small seating area as well as a tiny, rickety stage in the room’s right corner. The ‘back’ door is on the left side of the front wall and Paddy normally only unlocks it when business is booming or there’s a cover charge for live music.
Behind the back bar there’s another narrow hallway that leads to the kitchen on the left and more bathrooms against the back wall. There’s also a door between the bathrooms and kitchen that leads to a small alley behind the bar where deliveries are made or kitchen employees occasionally take smoke breaks.
Food, Liquor and Music
Food at the hole isn’t particularly creative, but is filling and tasty. Staples of bar food like burgers, wings and nachos are certainly available and portions tend to be large. There are a few unusual items on the menu, like salads, hummus and rice pilaf, since The Hole does cater to some fringe crowds. Daily specials tend to be fairly unique for bar food, as Paddy likes to give Tommy license to experiment.
The Hole is a working man’s bar, so while top shelf liquor tends to be good, it’s not in the thousand-dollar bottle range. There is the usual assortment of beer and cider on draft and in the bottle, and The Hole carries a fairly impressive range of beers from local breweries. Bartenders, all of whom have been trained by Paddy himself, mix well and don’t skimp on the liquor. There is a $1.50 shelf, containing some of the strangest or most vile liquor known to man, that adventurous patrons can order from if they’re feeling particularly daring. Ordering a drink from the $1.50 shelf gives the bartender on duty full license to make up whatever drink he or she wants on the spot and serve it to the patron. Due to the quality of the bartenders, usually the drink is at least palatable, and is sometimes surprisingly good.
Live music is something Paddy’s only been experimenting with over the last six months and there’s a definite skew toward alternative, hard rock and cover bands. Scheduling is sporadic at best and it’s unusual when there’s live music every week. The Hole is mostly played by local acts, many of whom were already acquainted with Paddy prior to getting the gig, though Paddy does have a few connections in the LA music scene and occasionally brings in acts from out of town. Paddy’s fairly picky about music, so he’s not sure if he’s going to make live bands a staple at The Hole, but they do seem to be drawing more of a crowd on certain nights.
When there isn’t live music, Paddy or one of his employees usually has something from one of their own collections playing over the bar’s sound system. As with live music, the ear-bleeding sound is what's most popular among The Hole’s employees.
Employees
There are several NPC employees that have already appeared in scenes or been mentioned by Paddy, as well as at least one PC employee:
Bob Trowbridge (getoffmybridge) is one of The Hole's two bouncers. Bob works the front door on alternate nights and the back door on Fridays and Saturdays, with the occasional private party in the back bar.
Dick is The Hole's other bouncer, and has been with Paddy since the bar opened. He is a huge, heavyset biker with buzzed blond hair and covered in tattoos. Dick says very little, chain smokes, and is extremely loyal to Paddy.
Josh is Paddy's assistant manager and runs the bar when Paddy's not there, as well as bartends when necessary. He's a small, wiry guy with spiked black hair and half a dozen piercings. He's almost freakishly responsible and is so mellow it's hard not to like him. There's a rumor that he used to be an UFL cage fighter, but Josh rarely comments on this.
Jay is usually stationed behind the front bar and is The Hole's primary bartender. He's a tall, bearded bald man with gauged ears and a wicked sense of humor.
Tommy is The Hole's primary chef, though really he's more of a glorified kitchen manager and short order cook. Patrons rarely see him, but he's a small, scrappy man of mixed race descent with shoulder-length dreadlocks that he normally wears pulled back. Despite Tommy's humble beginnings, he's actually got some skill as a chef and Paddy is currently paying to put him through culinary school. Tommy is also the bar's resident soft drug dealer, though he tends to only sell to people he knows.
Regular Patrons
Most of The Hole's regular patrons are a mixture of blue collar residents who live in the neighborhood, punks, bikers, and assorted local freaks. Paddy's always been most comfortable with working-class people or those on the fringes of society and his clientèle reflects this. With his ties to Tale society, there are also a handful of Tales who make regular visits to the bar and these include Irma Perkins (tuliped) and Monica Rae Demuth (sluefooting).