(I apologize in advance for the quality of these photos... it was dark and I only had my little camera)
I am happy to report that Maxwell's re-opened yesterday, and we were there to celebrate their opening night! Some of you might remember my ode to Maxwell's right after the fire in February... so you know that both Ben and I LOVE this bar. I am very glad that we can go back to having it as our go-to place - it was a sad 7 months without it!
We got to Maxwell's last night with our friends Jeff and Lori at about 9:45pm and it was PACKED - definitely more crowded than I've ever seen it. We had to stand in the middle of the place for awhile, but someone left a table in the back about 10 minutes after we got there, and I pounced on it. They did a great job keeping the feel of the bar the same - it is obvious that the walls are brand new, but they still have the exposed brick and black and white Minneapolis photos on the walls. I loved the two huge photos behind the bar - one of Maxwell's covered in ice after the fire, and the other is how it looks now (or it also could be from before the fire - I guess I am not sure).
My only slight disappointment is that the specials aren't the same. I loved the Friday night special of $3 mugs of Miller Lite. Their specials now are the same every night -10-12pm $3 You Call It - so I believe that is all rail drinks and draft beer. They also have half priced appetizers from 10 to 12 which is awesome. Promptly at 10, a waitress arrived at our table to let us know appetizers are half price and to ask if we wanted one - great service! Despite how busy it was, we never had to wait long to get anything.
(Jeff's Idaho Nachos - I had one bite and they were delish.)
The bathrooms were also re-done - no more ice in the urinal trough. The bathrooms now are two single bathrooms - very nice, but when it is busy like it was last night, there can get to be a bit of a wait.
All in all, Maxwell's is still the same great place it was before the fire - so get back over there and enjoy it!
