The Joynt — Restaurant in Eau Claire

Before i even moved to EC, the Joynt had been recommended to me as my sort of place. It made some sense, it has a history of being the bar where many great artists took their place in Eau Claire history, performing in the cramped conditions not for the prestige, but because it was the place where real artists performed and where real artists were. Crumb on the walls, Grain Belt on tap, I believed the recommendations.

I understood that they hadn’t had shows in years, but who was I to blame them? Times have been tough. Their jukebox was decent, and the vibes were acceptable.

A few visits in, a while back, a friend I had invited got chewed out by a bartender for initiating conversation with some other patrons. I thought that was what bars were for, at least to some extent, so I pocketed away the information, but thought little of it. Perhaps he had gone too far, I hadn’t witnessed it. Later that evening, another bartender apologized for his coworkers actions, and we all moved on.

Recently, the exact same bartender came up to me mid drink and accosted me because he perceived a slight in my “attitude” when entering the bar. I genuinely do not know what I did to offend this person. I was enjoying a pitcher (served by an entirely different bartender) and conversation with other regulars, but after such an interruption of my patronage with the same rude bartender, I cannot continue to excuse it. Once I can forgive, twice is a pattern.

Two stars for history. No more for the fact that they are a mere shadow of their past. No shows and terrible service. A cramped venue that might justify itself on having something special, but they don’t. Rude bartenders, limited drink selection, no seating. Go to the mousetrap, or the firehouse, or anywhere else. Such a shame to see what was once a great bar ride on...

Best bar on water street. A small hidden bar on the main road packed with people of every circumstance and belief. Everyone is friendly but generally keep to themselves. Loud obnoxious are not welcome however this doesn't mean people can't have fun, laughter is always in the air. It's a little bit of a tight fit however it keeps the places from being unnavigatable and keeps the numbers down. $0.25 pool and some awesome pinball games to boot. The decor is amazing if you like history/eau claire history and provides a real throw back experience without coming off as hispter, although a lot of hispter tend to go. Prices are super affordable and during happy hour basically free, they offer a great selection of beer however it is always served correctly aka no pitchers of Guineas. Definitely a gem of Eau claire and a place everyone should respect and...

Used to love going to this place up until the last time. My buddy and I showed up a couple minutes before happy hour ended and wanted two pitchers. The bartender snapped back and said no. He stated he wasn't going to serve us two pitchers minutes before his shift ended, but he would get us one. I wanted to tell him to screw off and walk out, but our friends were walking there to meet up with us in a few minutes, so I bit my tongue instead of making a scene. My buddy tried to tell him our friends were on their way, but he must not have heard him. Upon our friends showing up a few minutes later he apologized, and said he would've gotten us another if he had known they were coming... Besided that instance it's a nice hipster/dive bar. They do only accept cash, but there is an ATM...