Being from Baton Rouge, the most prestigious monument (or bar) of our great city was the original Shady's. You may now know it as Tops/The Levee/The Bandit. For most of us BR peeps, it was the first bar in Tigerland we ever went to and its holds some of our greatest memories (and our most outrageous regrets). Ever since the death of our beloved bar, things just don't seem to be the same. Three names later and we just can't seem to get it right. While Tops was in the running to be the best, that too slowly dwindled down to nothing.

Could it be the location? Since its not in the technical outskirts of the infamous Tigerland, or maybe it is our way of rebelling against those who stole Shady's from us. When it was The Levee there were some decent concerts, and maybe now that we are on name four, The Bandit will turn out to be a success, but deep down in our hearts we know that no bar could ever take the place of Shady's. It was where LSU football players were arrested and you could always count on a good fight in the parking lot. Does it get any better?

Fred's is fantastic and Bogie's is great, but those who were around for Shady's know the true potential of that spot. My hope is that someone will finally come to their senses and bring Shady's back to us. It breaks my heart to hear out-of-staters and the youngins say they have never heard of such a great establishment. Don't get me wrong, the modern TLand is great and I have had many great nights there, but Shady's was the first bar I ever went to, which will always hold a special place close to my heart. We all have "that" bar, our all time favorite. Maybe its because our ex boyfriend is there to make jealous, or just because all our friends are always there. That bar will always be your first option on a Thursday night, and be the place you tell your kids about (once they're old enough to hear, of course). So thank you, Shady's for being the bar I will always miss and never forget. Your stage was truly one of a kind, and I will always remember seeing that "Shady's" sign for the first time. So heres to you, Shady's and may one day you and your greatness return to us.