Stray Bar Owner Wants to Attract Neighborhood Crowd

Don Keane didn’t name his bar Cheers, but that’s the vibe he’s going for, as trite as it sounds, the owner added.

But he wanted his neighborhood hang out to stand out from the crowd, so he called it Stray Bar—drawing on his love of dogs—hoping it would be a conversation starter.

“It worked,” Keane said, “because everybody comments on the name. It’s not your everyday name.”

Nor is it your everyday bar. Keane said he didn’t want to open another pub or sports bar, and he thought the whole martini bar concept was out of place in historic downtown Frankfort. His goal: Create something geared to the over-40 crowd, as he felt there was a niche to fill in Frankfort.

“I wanted to offer reasonably priced drinks in a warm, pleasant setting. People want to be able to converse (over drinks) without shouting. That is key to this entire concept,” Keane said.

To create the homey atmosphere he felt his target market would be looking for, Keane added acoustical ceiling panels and area rugs in the conversation areas. He grouped comfy, oversize leather couches and zebra-print wingback chairs in small arrangements behind a handful of high-top tables. In front, groupings of cloth-covered dining room tables invite friends to sit and stay a while in a setting reminiscent of an English country house. A grand piano is tucked into a corner, but the piano player stops at 10 p.m. .

“It’s all how you set the mood and ambience,” Keane said.

And apparently he’s off to a good start in that department.

“I have a lot of people thanking me for opening this place,” he added.

And the customers Keane's talking about are the local businessmen who use the polished granite bar top—and free WI-FI—and the ladies who stop in for a late afternoon glass of wine with friends because they feel comfortable in the relaxed setting (and clean and classy washroom, something the owner prides himself on). The Stray Bar also draws couples who come out on the weekend for a drink and see neighbors who see friends who knew somebody back in the old neighborhood who know somebody in town … and so it goes, where everybody knows your name, or eventually will.

“It’s small enough that the bartenders know your name and what you drink after you’ve been here once,” said one such early afternoon businessman who didn’t want to be identified. “But it’s big enough so you have people to talk to, and you don’t have to drink alone."

While Keane opened Stray Bar the week of February's blizzard (“I like to do things the hard way,” he said, chuckling.), Keane has continued to build his business steadily by word of mouth. With the inside décor finished to his satisfaction (he designed the granite-topped bar, wainscoting and other interior appointments), Keane is now focused on enhancing his outdoor seating area along Old Frankfort Way.

“I want to do something classy,” he said. “I want to put in some very nice, decorative planter boxes out front so it looks kind of European.”

He also would love for well-behaved dogs to join their owners outside on the patio this summer, just as his champion Irish Setters used to do when he and his wife would visit the former Courtyard Bistro in Frankfort.

“I was thinking of having a friend of mine do an artist’s conception of it,” Keane said. “I think if I can convey the idea that way, people will get really excited about it.”

Stray Bar

When: Mon - Fri, 11 a.m. - 11 p.m.; Fri - Sat, 11 a.m. – midnight; Sun, noon-9 p.m. A piano player performs Wednesday, Friday and Saturday nights.
Where: 17 Old Frankfort Way
More info: Call 815-806-7185.