If you’ve been in Bottlerocket more than once, chances are you’ve heard about or even met our dear friend Bones.
This video is a 30-second glimpse into something over a year in the making. Bones, seen here with his partner Brandi, just found out that after being a part of the Bottlerocket community for over a year, he now has his own beer and shot combo: the “No Bones About It.”
“If Bottlerocket is Cheers - then I guess I'm Norm,” Bones said.
When I began working here in the fall of 2022, my coworker Hannah introduced me to Bones and Brandi on my first shift. As I remember, the introduction went a little like this:
“This is Bones; he drinks Iron City and a shot of Jack Daniels,” -Hannah, probably.
As long as I have known him, that order has never changed.
“I knew about Bones and Brandi before I met them, actually. When I was getting the bar set up on my first day, I was told who Bones and Brandi were and what they ordered as part of what I needed to know about the bar. I met them that day and have always felt like they cared about me and had my back since then.”
-Hannah Confer
This odd friendship spawned out of pure luck. Bones and Brandi happened to live right up the road from the bar, and Bottlerocket matched the vibe well enough to keep them coming back.
“You could imagine my curiosity when I spotted that sign of a disco ball wearing a pillbox Pirates hat on the outside of the building on my way home from work one day. A local bar, with my style and it's 50 feet away? Sign me up! We went on opening weekend and found out that the place exceeded my expectations, and I was hooked. I've been to a lot of bars and clubs in my life, but never one that I felt so at home in. You could say that BR became my living room. I even became the first member of the club.”
-Bones
This is true; Bones holds the first-ever monthly membership sold at Bottlerocket and puts it to good use. Let’s be honest, though; he hasn’t had to flash the card at any bartender in a long time. Bones and Brandi have become family here, and Brandi even joined the crew as a door person.
“I am very grateful for all the amazing people I have met, the shows I've seen and the moments that I have been a part of. We have really started a great community of family and friends here. I fall in love even more every time I walk into the place,” Bones said.
The entire staff has been affected in some way by Bones and Brandi being in the bar, which has been overwhelmingly positive. The bar wouldn’t be the same without them.
“People say all the time that Bottlerocket has a great community - to me, Bones is that community. He’s probably talked to more performers and guests than I have. Every bar has the guy sitting on the end every night - Bones is the best possible version of that guy,”
-Owner Chris Copen