A Secret Southern
SPEAKEAY

The Blue Monkey Lounge is Birmingham, Ala.'s Big-Money Business

    Birmingham, Ala., is known for its torrid summer temperatures, its history of steel and iron ore and its quiet feel for a mid-sized city. It is not known as a tourist destination; and as such the nightlife is seldom lauded outside of the metropolitan area. Many living in the city today probably would prefer to keep it that way — to selfishly love the hidden charms of it –– all to themselves.
    For the last five years, Blue Monkey Lounge was voted Best Martini and Best Patio by the Birmingham’s Black & White weekly free paper, and recently, it was awarded the hall of fame winner for Best of City, as well. With a maximum capacity inside and out of 250 people, the bar boasts more than 150 different types of liquor in-house — extreme evidence to the case that the Blue Monkey Lounge always has what patrons want behind the bar as a front-of-the-house priority. From its afternoon as well as after-dark residents, this local Birmingham haunt is pulling in perfectly justified profits. Serving the city’s thirsty under shady trees on the patio, happily off the beaten path.

Cobblestones and Compliments
    “The compliment I get a lot is, ‘hey man, I don’t feel like I am in Birmingham when I am in this lounge,’” Bernie Smith, co-owner of Blue Monkey Lounge, says. Why would someone? The Blue Monkey is located on Cobb Lane, one of Birmingham’s original, still remaining cobblestone alleys, tucked behind the rest of the hustle and flow of the Five Points area. Towering wrought iron gates, forged only miles away, surround the brick patio, and the signature monkey silhouettes atop Martini glasses flank the bar’s door. The mood outside is reminiscent of New Orleans or Charleston, S.C., but it quickly flows into old school New York as patrons enter the inner sanctum of the lounge itself.

Catacombs and Cosmos
    Situated in the basement of a three-story building, the whole space gently slopes downward, with low ceilings, exposed stone walls and a twisting corridor that reveals tiny nook and cranny rooms full of people snuggled on couches, releasing the worries of the day.
    “Being in a basement with separated rooms, it contributes to the ambiance,” General Manager Jason Allison says. “The inside is unlike really anything in Birmingham. I like to think of it as a throwback to the old speakeasy days. The space is such an integral part of what the Blue Monkey is. We wouldn’t be able to recreate that.”
    Each room is a little different, some with well-worn, soft leather armchairs, often occupied by more than one patron at a time on busy nights, others with hanging artwork like zebra skins or old oil paintings on the walls. And in the back is a piano, which local musician Steve Gordon tickles a few nights a week.
    Although as funky and quaintly un-spacious as the catacomb inside is, it is nothing for generating revenue when compared to the patio. On a warm Saturday night, the Blue Monkey patio sees a mix of artists, musicians, retired executives, blue collar workers, medical school residents and up to six or seven bachelorette parties. One might say this is where Birmingham’s trendy meet its tattooed.
   

    Pretty much everyone comes for the same libations, however. The bar’s famous 9-ounce Martinis, served in a 6-ounce glass with a creative 3-ounce sidecar, are a signature cure for anything that ails — including off-season bar sales.
    With hanging lights in the trees and warm friendly service, the locals only atmosphere appeals to all. Recently, the owners even went one step further in the realm of patio ambiance.
    “When the owners first came to me,” Allison says, “it was a wild hair. But at the beginning of this year, we put up new cool wagon-wheel looking iron things with blue glass candleholders on big cables at different levels in the trees. These are paraffin fueled, and we have to light them every night on a ladder.”
    Staying true to Birmingham, the new glass and wrought iron holders were crafted at the local iron works store, Frontera, and the extra time spent lighting them each night is slowly becoming a traditional part of the job.

Three-Part Success
    “I have been in this business in Birmingham, going on 18 years now,” says Allison. “This is the best group of guys I have ever worked for.”
    That group of guys would be the trifold ownership of Todd Kane, Sam Fallaw and Bernie Smith. Their management company, Tosabe (taken from the first two letters of each man’s name) also comprises the Tavern at the Summit in Birmingham and both locations of Azalea restaurant in Atlanta and Louisville, K.Y. Smith attributes their nine year success story at the Blue Monkey Lounge mainly to variety and value.
    “I don’t know anyone in the state of Alabama who carries as much liquor as we do,” Smith says. “Probably about 14 different single malts, and we carry Balvenie 15 for one customer because he requested it. For a bar to be successful,” says Smith, “you have to have atmosphere, a nice staff and offer a quality product. We have a great regular clientele, and they know that they can come in, and Costa will hand them their Gin and Tonic over the heads of three people, because they are here every night.”
    The owners work hard to keep up with competition, which is difficult due to Alabama laws. Since it is a controlled liquor state, the government dictates which products come into the market.
    “When we first came here,” Smith says, “we couldn’t get Grey Goose.” Unwilling to deprive their patrons, the three men contacted both the company and the state and paid for each case up front, agreeing to pick them up at the liquor store when delivered. And, even though the Monkey has no kitchen, patrons are more than welcome to order from the localized list of menus behind the bar and have food delivered.

Monkey On The Move
    Plans are currently being drawn up for a second location in Kentucky where the laws are less stringent and the market is Monkey-less. But never ones to forget their faithful patrons in the heart of Dixie, Smith says there is some revamping going on in Alabama as well.
    “We just bought $4,000 worth of new furniture. We are getting ready to re-carpet and re-paint,” he says.
This new look is not an attempt to boost slower sales or compete with the street front locations down the alleyway.
    “I think it is an advantage that people have to make a little bit of an effort to find us,” Smith says. “We don’t know what it is due to. We haven’t increased our prices. But we have had the highest sales ever this year. I guess they just keep turning 21 and coming in.” NCB