Crowbar & chill

The Crowbar & Grill is one of the many bars in Laramie, but stands out from the rest with a simple, fresh-made menu, craft beers and a chill atmosphere. The small but quaint establishment features dark, beautiful wood floors, bars and tables; art from local artists; relaxed music and a friendly ambiance.

The restaurant portion of the Crowbar consists of a small menu, allowing the restaurant to focus on creating unique and flavorful fare.

“We specialize in pizza, hamburgers and french fries, that’s our primary focus,” manager Ryan Archibald said. “We intend on keeping our menu simple and small so we can focus on creating the best of those products.”

Some personal favorites include the Billhook pizza, which is a Greek-style pizza that includes lamb, tzatziki sauce and feta cheese, and is extremely flavorful and a good step away from traditional pizzas. The Sledgehammer pizza is also a known great, and includes pepperoni, prosciutto, red sauce, and fried eggs on top. The Pad Thai fries are also incredible and well known, with crispy fries topped with pad Thai sauce, onions, and peanuts.

One of their more unique menu items is the King Burger, which is topped with bacon, cheddar, peanut butter, banana, and chocolate sauce. Archibald said it’s one of the best burgers you’ll eat.

Every week the restaurant hosts specials that highlight fresh ingredients that sometimes are not part of their normal menu, and the bar offers a variety of deals most nights of the week that feature local brewers and distillers.

“As far as the bar goes, one of the biggest highlights for us is our tap selection,” Archibald said. “We go through different beer distributors to make sure that we can cycle fresh flavors. We try to bring a lot of stuff out of Fort Collins to provide new and interesting flavors for the people of this town.”

The restaurant has a late-night menu that starts after 10 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday night, that includes simple pizzas, fried food, and appetizers, and is a great stop for bar-goers looking for a late meal.

The Crowbar is coming up on its fifth year in operation, established in June of 2012. Business has been consistent throughout the last few years, and the bar is currently preparing for a busy summer season full of tourists visiting Laramie for Jubilee Days and other summer events.

The bar puts out some ads in the paper, theatrical programs and Facebook, but relies mostly on good service and word of mouth for their advertising. Archibald also said that having a positive image on the internet is a big step for all restaurants.

“From working in Wyoming a long time, I’ve found that the best way to advertise for your business in this town is word of mouth,” Archibald said. “If you do a good job and you do it consistently, people are going to start to notice. If you can provide that repeatedly, then your business will do well.”

When asked what the Crowbar offers that other bars and restaurants in town do not, Archibald said that it would be their made-from-scratch ingredients.

“We provide a quality product that we’re all proud of–a lot of scratch-made things, scratch made cocktail mixers, scratch-made food ingredients–and we just try to focus on being the best,” Archibald said.

The Crowbar has become a popular spot over its short lifetime in the city, and many familiar faces frequent the establishment.

“I’m really amazed and proud of the community that has supported us throughout the years,” Archibald said. “I’ve been here awhile, and I’ve seen the same faces come in almost every single day for three years, and that’s a really good feeling to be able to share that with the people of Laramie.”