Best Campustown Bars by Decade

[CycloneJoe6]

Welch had $2 Long Islands one summer I was in Ames. Pretty sure the most damage I did to my body via alcohol occurred that summer.

Cafe B's long islands were a big hit when I was in school ('14-'18). If you started your night with those you weren't making it out past 10 lol

 

[dahliaclone]

Campustown in my years (96-00) had some great restaurants too though. I miss the McDonald's (now gone but was next to Welch Ave Station) where you could get 'Cyclone Fries' which was literally a brown bag full of their fries for like $3.

DaVinci's is still something I miss greatly.

Jimmy John's location now used to be Mr. Goodcents subs which was 100x better.

Hometeam Pizza with their Huger Huge deal was something we did a few times a week.

 

[Al_4_State]

Everything was better during the summer. Smaller crowds meant smaller lines, especially since we did way more weeknight drinking during the summer.

I never stayed in Ames for the summer, but I had buddies who did. I'd spend a weekend down there every summer month give or take, and always thought it was the best.

 

[David Freshman1982]

07-11' Honestly did more house parties than bars looking back. Had buddies that lived in the slaughterhouse on S. Hyland my Junior and Senior year so would start and end there. Wasn't until my senior year living on Hunt St. that we did bars.

Seemed like I only did WAS maybe a handful of times my entire time which now is where we all seem to meet up when back in town.

Would do Mickeys, Paddies, Cy's and usually end up at Outlaws on the dance floor or singing like jack wagons in the lower level. Few of us would get wild hairs and do Thumbs.

Can honestly say never stepped foot in Sips.

I do remember getting absolutely hammered when Wallabys was in west ames thanks to having a couple buddies who worked there as bartenders....thank goodness for cy ride

Yeah, campustown bars then home for the non-stop house parties. My crew lived at the infamous "Lincolnswing House" for two years in the late 80s. What a dump. We had parties pretty much 3 nights a week, every week. One of the guys put in a fridge with a tap right inside the front door in place of a closet. I think I was drunk more often than sober when I lived there. We literally had 400+ people at that tiny house for the EIU football game, shoulder-to-shoulder inside and the front yard as well. We asked for $2 "cover" from the Hok people until the Ames PD came and told us we couldn't do that. LOL. I'm pretty sure they finally tore that house down in the late 90s.

 

[RedlineSi]

Ames in the summer was glorious.

 

[Big Dummy]

This thread hit me hard in the feels...
I was there late 80s to early 90s.

That Place/Top o' the Town/Game Room - I worked there for its last few years until it closed. Great memories. Shooting hoops while working the door, hauling kegs up from the basement, sitting around drinking with the crew until sunrise. Damn...
Welch Avenue Station - 88 steps from my front door when I lived on Hunt Street
Cy's Roost/Lost 'n Found - Darts, pool and good hangs
Cave Inn - any coin any drink was fantastic, and the grossest men's room in town.
Peoples - I was there when it first opened. It was a drugstore before that. I literally scheduled my classes around FAC due to Peoples and the M-Shop. So many good local bands back then. Larry Meyer & Jack Gallup, Kiss the Fish, Dogtown, and a ton that I can't remember.

I easily spent more time at those places than all of my classes combined during my time in Ames.

 

[RedlineSi]

People's truly had some great bands come through the doors.

 

[BoomerClone]

Ames in the summer was glorious.

I’d work my summer job for the plant pathology department, get off at 3, drink till 2, rinse and repeat.

 

[Al_4_State]

People's truly had some great bands come through the doors.

I know Wilco played there multiple times when they were coming up.

 

[BoomerClone]

Ames in the summer was glorious.

Also, summer weekends. No responsibility at all. Please tell me someone on here knows about a little park on a pond close to Nevada. The name escapes me. They had a tent camp ground where you stuck like $8 in an envelope and could camp for the night. Spent MANY nights there in the summer around a campfire. There would always be at least 1-2 other groups of ISU students who would show up.

 

[RedlineSi]

Also, summer weekends. No responsibility at all. Please tell me someone on here knows about a little park on a pond close to Nevada. The name escapes me. They had a tent camp ground where you stuck like $8 in an envelope and could camp for the night. Spent MANY nights there in the summer around a campfire. There would always be at least 1-2 other groups of ISU students who would show up.

Peterson Pits?

 

[BoomerClone]

Peterson Pits?

No that was north of Ames if I remember right. Towards Roland. Spent time there fishing. I want to say this park I’m thinking of was Hickory Grove or something similar. I’ll have to Google it. Many drunken camping nights there

Edit: It is called Hickory Grove. Fun times around campfires meeting random people there and drinking till dawn

 

[ISpyCy]

I'm old enough to remember the bikini bar controversy.

 

[ISULibrarian]

Cafe B's long islands were a big hit when I was in school ('14-'18). If you started your night with those you weren't making it out past 10 lol

Oh god. When I was a senior (06-07), they had a special on Long Islands on Friday night for $3.50, with tip it was $5. If I had more than one, it was a going to be a ROUGH night.

 

[ISULibrarian]

I was there in the mid-aughts, I watched ISU beat KU at People's in 2005 and they gave everyone a round of free shots (and they did not card .) My sorority also had our grad party at People's like right before it closed; it was a great party, but also a little bittersweet. Meanwhile, I was out at Club Element the night before the ISU-KU game in 2007 and remember seeing a bunch of members of the men's basketball team there that night. Otherwise, we usually went to Cafe B for Long Islands, and then to Sips underneath Paddy's to dance. We referred to it as the 1-2 Punch.

 

[JP4CY]

Ames in the summer was 100% the best.
Time slowed down.
Those beers on the Mickeys patio were better.
Disc golf.
Maybe head to DSM for a nooner ICubs game.
Dollar movie theater matinee.
Ease of shopping at stores.

 

[KnappShack]

Campustown in my years (96-00) had some great restaurants too though. I miss the McDonald's (now gone but was next to Welch Ave Station) where you could get 'Cyclone Fries' which was literally a brown bag full of their fries for like $3.

DaVinci's is still something I miss greatly.

Jimmy John's location now used to be Mr. Goodcents subs which was 100x better.

Hometeam Pizza with their Huger Huge deal was something we did a few times a week.

I remember Hometeam had a deal where your price was the time you called. Large one topping and a drink.

I called at 5 on the dot for a week.

 

[mywayorcyway]

I remember Hometeam had a deal where your price was the time you called. Large one topping and a drink.

I called at 5 on the dot for a week.

$4 4 topping large delivered when I was there. Not sure we ever ordered less than 4 at a time

 

[Al_4_State]

I was there for Home Team’s final semester. I remember XLs being $3 if you did carry out. At least twice I bought one walking home from a party and ate the whole thing myself at my dorm computer watching Seinfeld on Landex at like 3AM

 

[BoomerClone]

$4 4 topping large delivered when I was there. Not sure we ever ordered less than 4 at a time

I remember that Home team deal. Also, Dominos had a 3 medium pizzas for $9 deal. Delivered until like 3 or 4 am