By Jared Curtis
Bombay Bicycle Club
Des Moines’ newest bar takes nightlife to the next level
New bars open all the time throughout the metro, but not all of them has garnered the buzz like Bombay Bicycle Club (BBC) has. The new Clive bar just opened last weekend, and patrons are already packing the place. The bar, co-owned by Jeremy Mahler (co-owner of Liars Club), Gus Ramirez and Mike Caudle, has a totally new look and feel from past establishments.
“We’ve all been friends since Gus was bartending at Hairy Mary’s,” Mahler said. “We had talked about doing something together, and this spot kind of fell into our laps.”
The name might confuse people, but Mahler wants people to know that the bar has nothing to do with bombay, bicycles or clubs; it was just “a cool name.”
“I originally saw the name in a bar in Nashville,” Mahler said. “It always stuck in my head, and it took us about five seconds to decide it was the right name.”
Mahler describes BBC as a “fancy dive bar.” It offers 30 different beers on tap and numerous bottles, quarts and 40-ouncers.
“We’re serving staples like Jack and Coke or dirty martinis,” Mahler said. “We’re not getting into the crazy infusions; we’re offering more of the standards.”
Numerous pool, shuffleboard and foosball tables will keep patrons entertained, and the bar offers a plethora of seating as well as old Victorian style couches and hair salon chairs.
“There is no real overall theme. It’s like ‘Sanford and Son’ built a bar,” Mahler laughs.
Happy Hour and nightly drink specials are in the works and will be up and running in the near future. Along with the drink specials, BBC offers one of the most unique and heart-attack-inducing menus in town. They offer a wide variety of appetizers/munchies (fried pizza and bacon-wrapped soft pretzel bites filled with cheese), sandwiches (“The Elvis,” a deep fried peanut butter and banana sandwich; “Fred the baker Burger,” a bacon cheeseburger between a donut instead of bread; “The After School Special,” a deep fried peanut butter and jelly sandwich; “The B.E.C.” described as “a bacon, egg and cheese sandwich battered like a trailer park girlfriend and deep fried,”) and desserts (B.B.C. Gourmet Cup Cake, deep fried Twinkie).
“We brought in Aaron Broshar (Splash), and he created a pretty unique menu,” Mahler said. “We tried to bring together a bunch of stuff we had heard of or seen before and offer it all at one place. I knew we were on to something when I bit into The Elvis. It is ridiculously good.”
The idea behind the BBC was to create a relaxing place where patrons could kick back and enjoy a drink without choosing a side.
“People are either going out to the Court Avenue area or to West Glen. We’re right in the middle, so you don’t have to pick a side,” he said.
BBC has an extremely cool look and feel, and the place could give plenty of bars a run for their money in the near future.
“We’re offering cold beer and great food you won’t find anywhere else in a laid back atmosphere,” Mahler said. “We wanted to create a place where you could relax and have as much fun as possible.”
Mission accomplished. CV
Caption: Owners Jeremy Mahler, Guz Ramirez and Mike Caudle sit at a custom booth with an array of food (The Elvis, Cap’n Crunch breaded chicken fingers and a Dagwood Sandwich) at Bombay Bicyle Club, 8410 Hickman Road, Clive. Hours are 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. daily. Kitchen hours are 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.
