Alfie's Wild Ride — Restaurant in Stowe

I have been to Alfie’s twice for their karaoke night. I enjoyed myself the first time but had a less than stellar experience tonight. To give some context, Alfie’s has some random aesthetics going on. The space is an old garage with an industrial feel with the stage inside being decorated like the Black Lodge from Twin Peaks. They have a large screen behind the stage to play videos and images as people perform. Both times I’ve been here, there have been full movies playing on the screen. Every time they have been niche arthouse films (i.e. Federico Fellini’s 8 1/2.) The films often contain graphic imagery that is racist and violent (a strange vibe to bring to your business in my opinion.) Tonight, I witnessed someone speak to who I assume is the manager (white guy with white hair) and ask them to change the movie to something different, as there was a rape scene playing while someone sang karaoke. I watched the owner get very defensive at this request and ultimately did not turn off the movie. I will not be returning to Alfie’s as the owner demonstrated that he is unwilling to make his patrons feel safe, included, and comfortable.

Update:

It is revealing that the owner responded to my review in the manner that they did. The response was entirely defensive an introduced arguments about issues which I did not raise.

If the owner wants to show "art" films in their place of business, it is their right. It is my right to share my opinion and never again patronize this business.

Rather than meet the needs of patrons, the owner seems to have their own agenda (again; it is their right to conduct business as they see fit). However, the responses from the owner to my and others' reviews demonstrates an inflexibility and unwillingness to understand the opinions of their patrons which, more than likely, will negatively impact if not end...

We went there on a Thursday night for karaoke with a wedding party, and you can't talk about this place without discussing the elephant in the room. There was an "art film" playing on a huge screen behind the people who were singing karaoke. Hey if you don't mind watching a movie that has a dude crap in a bowl, a castration, and children walking around with fully nude people then this may be the place for you. The staff says the owner, "plays stuff like this all the time," and a guy (I'm guessing the owner) made announcements about what the movie was like you need to put in your streaming queue. I've been all over the world and seen some crazy stuff, including those shows in Thailand, and this was by far one of the the most disturbing things I've seen in a bar. There was no need for it and it didn't serve to enhance the atmosphere of the the karaoke event. There could have been anything playing in the background that would have been better than a "fetish" film.

I don't know if the bar's film showing are a regular event or not, but I don't get the point of it if it happens "all the time."

Look the food was good, the staff friendly, and the beer selection was decent. However, I could be in front of the best rated restaurant in San Fransisco, but if I have to step over a pile of human crap to go in, then I'm going to look at what my other options are.

In my opinion this place really has potential, but lose the art films. This was the only place that was open later so if you want to hit a bar you really had only one option available in Stowe. Unless the atmosphere gets an update, I'd recommend buying a six pack and hanging out anywhere else to avoid whatever point the owner is...

This review is written with a heavy heart, because central Vermont finally had a place that truly had potential. However, a group of us went to karaoke last night (for the second time) and was extremely disgusted by the managers choice in “entertainment.” Without context to any patron at Alfies, the manager who also runs karaoke, decided to play the movie The Devils (1971) and immediately followed with Ms. 45. Both of the horror genre and completely inappropriate for a KARAOKE evening. If you enjoy standing on stage singing your heart out with violent scenes (including rape and murder, or in other words trauma porn) playing behind you, you might vibe well here.

The more uncomfortable part is that when the manager was politely asked to change the movie choice by multiple patrons, he got defensive and started making generalized statements about how Alifie’s is an “inclusive” space. It’s obvious the other staff members are unable to speak up even if they wanted too.

Again, so unfortunate because it’s really misleading and confusing to be in a “safe space” while having to digest grotesque scenes with no accountability on the managers part. This is not a college film class with a discussion or your personal home movie theater, those movies do not belong in a public venue without context. Especially when most patrons were female ...