Limerance Desterilizing the West Side by Chris Crawford, Jayplay writer
Matt Baum, owner of Limerance, said he wanted to bar to be mellow. "One of the reasons I opened this place is because when I went out I never could find anywhere to sit down," he said.
When I first saw the sign for Limerance, located in the strip mall at 15<sup>th</sup> and Wakarusa, I thought it read "Limericks." I figured for a couple bucks a leprechaun would administer a questionnaire and then write a rhyming ditty about you. Inside, you actually find an eclectic downtown lounge dropped in the middle of sterile West Lawrence.
sterile West Lawrence. The room is dark - lit candles cover the bar. The acoustic stylings of Arthur Dodge play over the speakers. Local artist David Quinn's work adorns the deep red walls. A couple coos over wine at the bar. Three older gentlemen sit at a table, made from a Singer sewing machine, reliving the glory days of college debauchery. A cute brunette pokes at the Megatouch name screen. Mellow
game screen. Mellow oozes out of this place, and that's exactly what owner Matt Baum wants. "It's not supposed to be super, super busy," says Baum. "One of the reasons I opened this place is because when I went out I never could find anywhere to sit down."
Limerance opened two months ago and draws a crowd in the morning as well as at night. Open 8 a.m.to 2 a.m., Limerance offers a variety of coffee drinks as well as cocktails, wine and beer (selection will rotate periodically). Baum says the heaviest traffic comes in for coffee in the morning. Students usually come in during the day and sit down with a book or take advantage of the wireless Internet service.
The back room puts the lounge in the lounge. A couple of leather couches accommodate players waiting to shoot free pool or darts. The free pool is one of the features that drew Paige Harmon, Tulsa, Oklahoma senior to the lounge. Harmon also comes to Limerance because she likes the employees,the combination of coffee and liquor in one spot and the clean bathroom. (Who doesn't love a spic-and-span potty?) But her favorite offering is the Friday tasting event.
Limerance offers a different tasting every Friday night for $10. Patrons can wet their beaks with beer, wine, sake and tequila tastings. Bar manager Mechell Moore says the flexibility of the lounge makes it unique. She says it can be a sleek coffee shop, a romantic date destination or a place to hang out with friends. At the other end of the strip mall, Tanner's Bar and Grill manager Susan Wood doesn't see Limerance as direct competition. Wood says the two watering holes are both good spots to drink in. She added that Tanner's carries mainly domestic beers and basic imports; Limerance carries more than 40 beers and wines. Such a peaceful name (See sidebar, below) and laid-back lounge came from an unusual source.
back lounge came from an unusual source. The six-foot, 220 pound Baum hides his intensity behind his glasses and soft speech. The 1998 grad gained an undisclosed reputation as the manager of Louise's Downtown for seven years and bartended for 12. But after moving to Atlanta for a print advertising job he grew to detest, he tried out for the World Championship Wrestling squad. At the conclusion of a rigorous ass-kicking trial, Baum was one of the few left standing. And for two years, Baum tagged in to get whooped byWCW superstars including Raven and Scott Steiner. "I got up everyday to be a superhero," says Baum. "I wasn't a part of reality. The bar is like that by creating atmosphere no different than theater or wrestling." And that's what Baum wants every customer to enjoy: an escape from everyday life, an escape from the suburbs and an escape from school.
The name Limerance, which can't be found in most dictionaries, comes from a book that Baum read in a KU writing class. In the book, Love and Limerance by Dorothy Tennov, limerance is described as "the psychological state characterized by deep, addictive infatuation that humans fall into upon 'falling in love.'"
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Japlay 9.2.04