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Belly Up

Oct 20, 2011

Krazee Kafe pushes the envelope of edgy ideas that just might work

Shauna Dietrick pours a Jack Ass, Jack Daniels mixed with Whoop Ass energy drink. It’s one of her favorites to serve up at Krazee Kafe.

By Amber Williams

If you weren’t one of the thousand who were there, likely you heard about the sexy, slightly risqué homemade bikini contest — the first of many more — that was held at Krazee Kafe in August.

“We had to move it outside, because so many people showed up,” said manager Denny B.

And that was without advertising the idea. Imagine what a turnout Krazee Kafe will have with its next homemade bikini contest coming up on New Year’s Eve now that people are hearing about it. (Check out their Facebook page for pictures.)

“We’ve got a ton of stuff coming up,” Denny B. said. “It’s constantly changing every day,” so much, in fact, it’s hard to figure out where to begin. A few months ago, when the place opened, they “never set out to be a full-fledged bar,” Denny B. said. Instead, it is what its name claims it to be: a café, with a “K.” It’s different just to be different.

It’s a café with coffee, tea and a small menu of simple food reasonably priced. It’s also a bar, featuring a host of liquor and beer flavors not found in your typical tap house. And it’s a salon, where you get a free drink with every haircut, you can sip a martini while getting a manicure or a shot before a tanning session and that offers those services until the bar closes.

Because it doubles as a salon, “it’s a female-friendly bar,” Denny B. said.

“This gives a different degree and a different edge,” he said. “You can have a beer while you wait for your hair, nail or tanning session. You can come in with your kids, and they can have a bowl of cereal while you’re getting your hair cut (the cereal bar offers 30 cold breakfast varieties and an array of toppings you might normally put on your ice cream), and your husband can watch the game.”

The lady patrons might also appreciate the occasional ladies’ night with male strippers — something that’s almost unheard of anymore, and something that’s a fair turnabout, considering its close proximity to (and unofficial relationship with) the Lumberyard Strip Club.

And because many of the Lumberyard dancers enjoy a cocktail with friends at Krazee Kafe after their shifts, the “female-friendly” bar is also a bit of a man magnet.
Krazee Kafe has gained a reputation as a biker bar, too. And it’s also gaining momentum as a concert hall, with a big, new stage hailing national acts such as the upcoming Heidi Newfield on Nov. 11 and the tribute band tour of Silver Bullet (Bob Segar), Dead or Alive (Bon Jovi) and Paradise City (Guns-n-Roses), and live band karaoke every Thursday night.

“Everybody else has the same local acts day in and day out,” Denny B. said. “Love it or hate, but you’re going to see something different at Krazee. “Bored people get in trouble. Here you don’t know what you’re going to get. This is a way to get out of the norm. We do things everybody else is afraid to try.” CV