Bartender’s Corner: Affordable dive bars near campus

Dive bars hold a pleasant, dingy charm, and are notorious for offering incredibly cheap drink specials. In midtown Kansas City, there are plenty of dive bars to choose from, but only a few worth repeat visits. The following bars are some of the best places near campus for cheap drinks and fantastic entertainment.

Buzzard Beach

For those who hate cover charges but enjoy live (typically indie) music and fantastic drink specials, Buzzard Beach is a great choice. Buzzard’s happy hour specials are always affordable, and long hours give patrons a large window of opportunity to purchase dirt-cheap drinks. Happy hour runs 3-8 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 3-9 p.m. Friday and 3-7 p.m. Saturday.

During happy hour, well drinks are $2.50 ($2.75 for drinks involving juice), and select draft beers are $1.25 each. The bar includes a large covered patio where patrons can smoke, and free popcorn is offered inside.

On Tuesday nights, additional specials are offered on Miller High Life bottles from 8 p.m. until close. Wednesday is Missouri Beer Night, which means drafts brewed in Missouri are discounted from 8 p.m. to close. Thursday is trivia and Ladies Night starting at 7 p.m., and starting at 8 p.m. Sunday is “Stupid Cheap PBR Night,” which means, according to buzzardbeachkc.com, “PBR bottles and drafts so cheap you would have to be stupid to pass up the price.”

Buzzard’s affordable happy hour specials make the bar an ideal nightlife destination for college students on a budget.

The Riot Room

The Riot Room features great live music almost every night of the week. A majority of bands booked at The Riot Room are up-and-coming indie bands, but  patrons will occasionally see more popular and well-known performers, such as Nappy Roots, which will perform Oct. 22.

The Riot Room is not a typical dive bar because of its extensive beer selection. With more than 50 draft beers and an additional 30 bottled beers available for purchase, the Riot Room is guaranteed to have a beer for everyone’s taste.

The Riot Room claims it is “bringing wasted back in style,” featuring a reverse happy hour from midnight until close, and offers a spacious patio for smokers.

Like most concert venues, The Riot Room’s drinks are typically more expensive than other bars offering drink specials. Coupled with the price of a cover charge, the venue isn’t the cheapest place to knock back several drinks, but its large beer selection makes it a destination to explore.

With dim lighting and loud live music, The Riot Room isn’t an ideal place to socialize with friends, but has become one of the most popular bars in the Westport area among music fans.

For more information about upcoming shows, visit www.theriotroom.com.

Davey’s Uptown

Davey’s Uptown Ramblers Club is the textbook definition of a dive bar: small, dark, dingy and has been family-owned since 1950.

Davey’s features live music, typically six days a week, ranging in genre from bluegrass to punk rock. Though Davey’s usually has a cover charge, it only applies when bands are in-house. Patrons uninterested in paying the charge can visit when no live band is scheduled.

Every Monday night at Davey’s is “The Liquid Lounge” with DJs Lost Boy and Big Brother.  Despite featuring live DJs, The Liquid Lounge does not have a cover charge, and well drinks are only $1.50 after 10:30 p.m. Tuesdays are “Two Dollar Tuesdays,” meaning all wells and domestic pints are $2 each. Wednesdays are “Amy Farrand’s Weirdo Wednesday Supper Club,” a variety show held each week, featuring entertaining acts such as comedy, burlesque, puppet shows, opera and juggling, to name a few.

For friendly service, diverse musical performances, cheap drinks and unique entertainment, Davey’s is the place to be.

For a full schedule of performances, visit www.daveysuptown.com.

kotte@unews.com