Well, it ain’t Tiki … but it is delightful!
As much as any other frequenters of the Tacoma Cabana and Rum Bar, I lamented the passing of our local Tiki bar. With a confluence of events, from the opening and success of their second nearby bar, Devil’s Reef, to the ending of the lease contract on the space the Tacoma Cabana had occupied, owner’s Jason and Robyn Alexander decided to shut it down. There were theories of why the Cabana shut down, and rumors of what would become of the space, but Jason and Robyn came up with a truly unexpected plan. They worked out a new deal with the landlord to cut off a lot of unused space from the lease, and quickly created and opened a very distinctive sort of bar in its place. From the ashes of the Tacoma Cabana, a creamy, dreamy, 1970’s inspired Phoenix called The Fern Room arose!
The Fern Room is Jason and Robyn’s take on Fern Bars of the 1970’s and early 1980’s. It feels like a loving homage though, rather than an ironic mocking of the often maligned Fern Bars. Fern Bars had their purpose though. What exactly was a Fern Bar? The Fern Bar template was set on the West Coast when Norman Hobday opened Henry Africa’s in San Francisco around 1970. In 1965 though, on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in NYC, Alan Stillman had opened what is believed to be the first Fern Bar, the original location of T.G.I. Friday’s, aiming to create a form of saloon that was welcoming to young women. Prior to that, singles met up mostly at cocktail parties, which were more private affairs, and hard to keep up with. This was a new way for single people in the city to socialize in public that was more gender integrated and socially acceptable than the standard bars and clubs of the time. Following his original vision, it was a fairly upscale and loungey tavern for singles to mingle in. The frequenters of Fern Bars were generally urban and suburban office and professional workers, preppies, and what came to be known as yuppies.
Fern Bar décor commonly had lots of ferns and other easily manageable plants, comfortable seating, and faux stained glass lamps and sconce lighting, to set the mood. They were supposed to look contemporary, but lived in … fancier than a dive bar, blue collar pub, or sports bar, but not so fancy as to be unwelcoming like a stodgy men’s club. It was like a cozy living room or parlor in your well-off Aunt’s or Grandparent’s home. The commonly served drinks were beer, basic cocktails with some flourishes and enticing names, and creamy blender drinks for the ladies, with the friendly flavors of mint, chocolate, and vanilla. Not a bar for getting rowdy, more of a place to hunker down and get to know someone(s?) in. Fern Bars were similar to the bar on Cheers, or the Regal Beagle from Three’s Company, and were the progenitors of modern casual chains like Applebee’s and TGI Fridays as we know them today.
The Tacoma Cabana served its last exotic cocktails on Saturday September 1st, 2018, and The Fern Room was open for business by Wednesday September 26th. While Robyn and Jason had taken many months to take the Devil’s Reef from vision to reality, The Fern Room happened in just a couple of weeks! It was in the “Soft Open” phase for the first week, the décor still getting some tweaks, and the menus still evolving, but they crafted an excellent starting program.
The new concept is very comfort-minded and mellow, including a very well curated playlist of era appropriate music, soft-blue fabric chair covers, a paint scheme with avocado green, and earth-tone striped accents, painted black brick, wood, macrame curtains and owl wall hangings …
… and a handcrafted herringbone patterned wooden bar top, with macramé covered drop lighting (where a thatched cover used to be), serving Jason Alexander’s take on cocktails that would’ve been served in a loungey 1970’s cocktail bar, and Robyn Alexander’s take on casual classic eats. Jason has also come up with some very inspired slushy drinks!
My first visit was on the second day of soft open, Thursday September 27th (2018). Ray Wyland and I checked things out, sitting at the bar. I enjoyed partaking in a Harvey Wallbanger and an Amaretto Sour.
Both were good, though I enjoyed the Amaretto Sour more. Jason Alexander told me he’d be working on re-imagining his Harvey Wallbanger more in the style and presentation of an Old Fashioned. I’ll look forward to that!
Ray dove into the more creamy dessert drink options, with a Grasshopper and a Frozen Mudslide. Jason Alexander was still working on the menu and cocktails and offered us samples of a Bourbon, Galliano, and bitters cocktail called a Spaghetti Western, and also of the Devil’s Reef Triple Six Black IPA, made for them by Dystopian State Brewing Co., a local Tacoma WA microbrewery. The Spaghetti Western was terrific, and the Devil’s Reef Black IPA was surprisingly smooth and drinkable. Ray was headed up the hill to the Devil’s Reef, but I stuck around and convinced my wife, the lovely Samantha Craig, to join me for supper. Samantha ordered a Salty Dog, and thankfully she shared it with me.
I was expecting a basic Grapefruit and Vodka drink, but instead was impressed with very complex and layered flavors of citrus, vanilla and a savory bit of saltiness. I’d been growing anxious to try a drink from the slushy machines after watching them churn their chilly contents through my first few rounds.
There are 3 available, and Jason Alexander plans to rotate recipes through them. The initial offerings were Long Island Iced Tea, White Russian, and Mac Nut Chi Chi. After sampling all 3, I opted for the Long Island slushy, which was boozy, flavorful and smooth.
For supper I went for the Salisbury Steak, which was a comfort food standard including gravy, potatoes, peas and carrots. Samantha enjoyed a Jive Turkey sandwich, complete with cranberry sauce, cream cheese, and lettuce, on a toasted croissant roll. A neighbor we’d been chatting with at the bar offered me one of her Deviled Eggs, which was likewise delicious and well seasoned, with bits of bacon. I closed with a Lemon Drop cocktail, a tart and tasty treat.
Just two nights later, on Saturday September 29th, Samantha and I were going out for a casual date-night kind of supper, and what she really wanted was another Jive Turkey sandwich. Jason Alexander had posted that he’d be filling one of the slushy machines with a Jungle Bird concoction, so I was game. I started with a Salty Dog this time because that drink had left an excellent impression.
I also did what I could to “help” clean out the slushy machine formerly dedicated to the Mac Nut Chi Chi, so Jason Alexander could get his new Jungle Bird slushing up. While waiting for the Jungle Bird to chill and swirl properly, I also hoisted a slushy White Russian. Be aware that though the slushy drinks aren’t served in a large portion, they are quite potent and go down very easily. Both were satisfying, but too many and you might go home with Jack Tripper, or Larry Dallas!
We noticed changes to the menu already. Among other differences, the Spaghetti Western, with a little reworking, had gone from a Lowball to the featured drinks section at the top of the menu. Samantha had the Jive Turkey she’d been craving, and I had Pork Street Tacos and Caprese Skewers.
I closed out with the promised Jungle Bird Slushy. Having Tiki cocktails like the Mac Nut Chi Chi and the Jungle Bird re-imagined as slushy drinks was a fun and effective means to taste them in a new way. I’m hoping some of my other Tiki favorites like the Zombie Punch, Mai Tai, Navy Grog or Painkiller might get their turns in Jason Alexander’s slushy cauldrons of cocktail creativity some day!
My lovely Samantha and I made it in again on Thursday October 4th, this time with Ray Wyland, and friends from Vancouver BC Canada, Terry and Heather Manning. The Fern Room is very conducive to conversational cocktailing with friends and that is exactly what we did. Samantha had to have another Jive Turkey, and I needed another Salty Dog. The Fern Room was in Full Open by then. I noticed a Regal Beagle Burger on the latest version of the menu. It was a very good burger with bacon, cheese and all the usual toppings. The Mannings appreciated the Salisbury Steak, and complimented their cocktails as well. Jason Alexander dropped by with a Gin Suissesse, his play on a classic cocktail called an Absinthe Suissesse, and it was kind of creamy, mysterious, and minty. A Mudslide had made it into the slushy rotation too.
Overall, my impressions of the The Fern Room after my first three visits are that it is both luscious and comfortable. There is a lot that feels familiar, but reveals new layers and delights as you hunker down for a while. And lest we forget our beloved Tacoma Cabana, there is still a little bit of the Cabana in the space … you can still see the Cabana’s logo on the far back wall, though in more muted colors to match the new décor …
… and lurking unobtrusively on a shelf behind the bar is a remaining proof mug of the Tiki mug that was made for the Tacoma Cabana.
The new environment is noticeably different from your everyday bar, and if you enjoy nostalgia and escapism, you can get a healthy dose of it in The Fern Room, along with modern renditions of the food and beverages of a previous time and place. You won’t be getting your favorite Tiki drinks there anymore, but several years of exotic craft cocktailing inform Jason Alexander’s choices, so be prepared for a very different sort of experience in the drinks you can expect from a fern bar. Jason and Robyn Alexander are not known for leaving well-enough alone, so additional changes to the cocktail and food menus are not to be unexepected. Robyn also intimated that she has some surprises in store as The Fern Room continues to develop.
NOTE: The Fern Room is located at 728 Pacific Ave, Tacoma, WA 98402, and is open Wednesday through Saturday every week from 5 PM until Midnight (or maybe 1 AM if the mood is right?) unless otherwise posted.