Food

For a while now, customers at The Office Soft Rock Lounge on Noble Street have been telling managers Mike and Ann Crossley they needed a bigger place. And it's understandable. On many weekends, the bar would be packed with customers, some crammed around the pool tables, strategically positioning the cues as to not hit others. Other customers squished in next to each other at the bar or at the tables, chatting and listening to Danny and David, the house band that played every weekend, and the dance floor was often so packed with gyrating bodies that it made it difficult to walk by.

It seems that all those problems will be solved with the opening of Coyote Mike's, the Crossley's new restaurant and bar that opens tonight.

"It's the biggest place around," said manager Mike Crossley. "We just had to move up and move out."

The building on Highway 202 formerly housed a bar called Charlie Two Hats, an Eagles Lodge before that, and was originally a grocery store. At almost 20,000 square feet, Coyote Mike's is more than six times bigger than the bottom floor of the old bar on Noble Street.

The new bar will offer many of the same amenities as The Office: karaoke on Tuesday and Wednesday nights and live music by Danny and David (but with some more friends added on), on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays.

The building also has a full kitchen, so customers will be able to dine before heading into the bar.

"It's a middle of the road supper club," said Mike's wife, Ann, who calls herself the assistant manager. "Where if you want to come up here and have a couple of steaks and a couple of drinks, you can."

For tonight's opening (Ann calls it VIP night, but everyone is invited), the kitchen will serve a pre-Thanksgiving dinner, and Danny and David will provide the entertainment. There's plenty of room on the large dance floor, as well as another dance floor reminiscent of the movie Coyote Ugly.

"It's for all the Coyote customers who want to dance onstage in front of the mirrors," Ann said of the bonus stage. "This is to get them out of the chairs and off the tables."

The party really begins on Friday, with multiple bands, including members of 10/55 and Joker.

The bar will also be open every weekend for football games, projecting them on the 12-foot screen in the main bar room. The Crossleys will also be hosting their fourth annual chili cook-off for next week's Iron Bowl.

Eventually, the Crossleys plan on renting rooms for private parties and events, and want to have their kitchen open for lunch. But for now, they're just excited about seeing their friends.

"All the old gang from The Office, come see all your friends," Ann said. "It's the same fun environment."