Conner Nuckols

The Communicator

The new Downtown Spokane Daiquiri Factory has been in business for less than a month and has managed to make headlines all over Spokane due to a controversial drink called Date Grape Kool Aid.

Over a hundred people have been seen outside the bar protesting the drink, and the owner of the bar, Jamie Pendleton, has responded back by posting numerous grape puns on the bar’s facebook page. These actions have local bars unsure as to the Daiquiri Factory’s future.

Casey Straim, a bartender at Baby Bar, hasn’t been into the Daiquiri Factory yet but he is uneasy about the Daiquiri Factories drink names and their marketing style.

“It’s ballsy,” Straim said. “It’s either three things; Ballsy, extremely dumb or they are good at bringing in a crowd.

Straim also doesn’t foresee the Daiquiri Factory being open for very long due to the timing of their opening.

“I don’t know how well a Daiquiri bar will do in general, let alone opening one in the middle of winter ,” Straim said. “But I guess theres a market for everything these days.”

Cory Ehrgott, the owner of the Lucky’s Irish Pub, doesn’t think they will last long because of bars reliance on community. Ehrgott’s response to the chaos caused by the bar was a giant ‘booooo’.

“If the protesters want to stop them then they need to just ignore them and not give them anymore publicity.” Ehrgott said. “If they (Daiquiri Factory) want to stay in business then they will do what the community wants them to do.”

Despite all the scepticism about the bar, some other bars in town think the bar is off to a great start.

Matt Daniels, a bartender at Irv’s and local promoter, like most bars, agreed that the Daiquiri Factory

hasn’t handled the situation very well. However, Daniels enjoyed the promoting scheme.

“Most bars don’t make anything during their first year,” Daniels said. “If they can continue to bring people in then I’m sure they’ll be around.

“As a promoter I think they’ve handled this whole situation humorously but poorly; Their Facebook is ridiculous but it’s their gimmick and they’re running with it.”

Daniels also made note of all the other horrible drink names out there, separate from Date Grape, and thinks bars should come up with sillier less offensive drinks.

“I thought about making drinks called Consensual Lover or Cuddle on the Beach.” Daniels said. “i think it would be more fun.”

In Spokane we have seen great diversity in the bar community such as, Pubs like Lucky’s, martini bars like the Peacock Lounge, and Neato Burrito/Baby Bar. All of the bars are different in their own way and sell to different crowds.

Only time will tell if Spokane is ready for a bar such as the Downtown Spokane Daiquiri Factory.