The first thing you notice when you step into The Webfoot Bar & Grill is how much bigger the space is than you expected. The room is deep and stretches far back, which nicely accommodates the 36-foot-long bar. The extra-long bar offers two things: space for people to order drinks easily and elbow room for customers to sit at the bar — an atmosphere that mixes elements from many campus bars in a new way.
The brand-new establishment is ready to serve the campus community. The Webfoot opened its doors Nov. 19 and will be hosting a grand opening Friday, Dec. 2. To celebrate the bar’s opening and the first Pac-12 Championship Game, The Webfoot plans fun festivities throughout the night, including drawings for prizes like T-shirts and a snowboard. The beginning of winter term will see another opening night targeted at University students.
38-year-old Justin Walker has been dreaming of opening a bar of his own for the last 20 years. Now, with his co-owner and wife, Barbie, Justin is finally ready for business. With the new spot on East 13th Avenue next to Cafe Roma, the bar is set on prime real estate and completes the campus version of downtown’s Barmuda Triangle.
“I just wanted to make some place comfortable for everyone to hang out,” Justin said.
Justin, a former general manager at Taylor’s Bar and Grill, and his wife don’t think anyone will run them out of business, and they’re not concerned with the proximity of Taylor’s, Rennie’s Landing or even Max’s Tavern.
“With this economy, it’s nice to see that a new business can open and be included and welcomed by other local businesses,” Barbie said.
Her husband agreed. “I don’t really see us as being in competition with each other at all,” Justin said, describing the University bar district as a family. “I think there’s plenty of business to go around. I’m just trying to give students another option.”
And it seems he’s succeeding. So far, the bar has been filled on the weekends, even before the grand opening or any active advertizing. Most of the draw has come from word of mouth.
“It’s really similar to Max’s, not as big as Taylor’s and not as claustrophobic as Rennie’s,” University senior Aly Stanton said.@@http://directory.uoregon.edu/telecom/directory.jsp?p=findpeople%2Ffind_results&m=student&d=person&b=name&s=Alyson+L+Stanton+@@ Stanton has been to the bar three times and learned about it from a friend. “It adds another stop on the going-out route.” @@Someone’s embraced being a journalist@@
Justin said he sees The Webfoot as a mixture of the three traditional campus bars and The Bier Stein@@http://thebierstein.com/@@. The influence of the latter is apparent in his bar’s beer options. Choices will be abundant, with 12 different beers on tap and 20 different bottled beers.
Though on fluctuating hours now, starting in January the bar will be open from 11 to 2:30 a.m. Happy hour lasts from 5 to 8 p.m., with free popcorn if you order a drink.
The Walkers are currently trying out different specials to see what works, including good quality liquor and well-made drinks. @@when DOESN’T this work?@@The menu has traditional bar food (though everything is baked, not fried), as well as grilled sandwiches like paninis and local produce. Entertainment is a mix of many tastes — though there’s room for dancing, a variety of music is played night to night, including reggae, hip-hop, rock and electronic dance.
“I like it a lot because it’s something different,” Stanton said. “There’s such a happy, exciting, new feeling when you go in there.”
The new bar looks to the future and at the same time nods to the past. Justin’s goal is to eventually have 15 51-inch plasma TVs adorn the walls, so sports fans can get their fill too. The bar also has a growing collection of old-school games such as Pac-Man, air hockey and soon a Pop-A-Shot basketball arcade game.
The name of the bar also ties in with Oregon’s history. Before it was the Beaver State in 1909, Oregon was known as “The Webfoot State.” Describing the wet winter weather, the term was used in the 19th century to describe Oregonians, particularly those living in the Willamette Valley. University of Oregon students once wore the name with honor. @@http://www.goducks.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=500&ATCLID=153778@@
“We’re being a little bit nostalgic and representing the good old days of the Webfoots and what they did at the start of the U of O,” Barbie said. “I mean, they were the originals.”
The Walkers are ready to be a part of the University District, serving students and providing a place to kick back, relax and hang out.
“I’m really trying to focus on the students,” Justin said. “If I’ve been running Taylor’s for 15 years, I think I know what they want.”
The new Webfoot Bar & Grill holds grand opening on Friday
Daily Emerald
November 29, 2011
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