The new bar located on North College offers a classic and upscale option to Auburn's night life.
Avondale Bar and Tap Room sits above the University Barber Shop, its narrow black staircase entrance positioned in between the barber shop and Wrapsody.
Hardy Gilbert, owner and Auburn alumnus of '93, said he wants the bar to be known for its classic cocktails and timeless feel rather than specific tailored drink specials.
Gilbert said they want to expand the customer's horizons.
"You create a drink menu, and then people come in and that's all they tend to order," Gilbert said.
Avondale wants to cater to the customer's past and current preferences. "What do you like to drink?" Gilbert said, exemplifying how they want to help customers make decisions.
"What kind of liquor do you like to drink?… Do you like something really sweet, do you like something tart and sweet, or do you like something that's not sweet at all? Do you like something with fizz in it? Do you like something on the creamy side? All those little things: we want to encourage conversation and a dialogue with the customers."
The classic ambience of the bar is supported by the black and white decorations, Coronado Jukebox that Gibert said will soon be able to play 45 record singles, dim lights and sharply dressed bartenders.
There are TVs, but they are hidden behind cabinets and only turned on by request, Gilbert said.
Avondale also never has live music, so customers need not worry about a cover charge.
Gilbert has been working on the idea of Avondale since March 2011 and said the area used to be an empty loft. He had previously been toying with the idea of opening a restaurant.
"I was overhearing some friends who are my age and they were all talking- it was about 10 o'clock on a Tuesday night and they were like, there's no place for them to go and drink that they didn't feel too old...And I said, 'Forget the kitchen,' and I was like, 'Forget the restaurant, just do the bar.' And that's how the whole thing started."
They have recently started making 'fizzes,' which are cocktails made with egg whites, Gilbert said.
One such fizz is their Sloe Gin Fizz, made with Sloe Gin, fresh squeezed lemon juice, simple syrup, egg whites and seltzer water.
The fizz is stirred until the straw stands up straight in the cocktail glass, Gilbert said.
Justin Strawn has been bartending for 18 years, and said he was looking for a place to work that would emphasize the quality of the drinks.
The Princess Leigh Cheri tastes like a creamsicle and is named after one of his favorite characters in Tom Robbin's "Still Life with Woodpecker," Strawn said.
The drink is made with equal parts vanilla vodka and Solerno Blood Orange Liqueur, with a splash of PAMA Pomegranate liqueur.
Avondale also offers an Old Fashioned: two slices of orange, a Bordeaux cherry that is muddled with a sugar cube, a full shot of bourbon of the customer's choice, soda water and ice.
For Strawn, bartending involves a great deal of inventing.
"In a way, it's kind of weird to say, but I kind of consider myself a little bit of an artist when it comes to making drinks."
Strawn said he feels Avondale has been well-received by the Auburn crowd and said he likes the mix of older and younger people who come in.
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