RUM RUNNERS FUN

The 70's were reborn at Rum Runners last night. I attended a gathering there planned by the organizers of a meetup group my husband and I belong to called "Triangle Couples". Unfortunately, last night my husband wasn't able to attend the event, but that didn't keep me from going solo and partying with my friends.

Rum Runners is a fun bar, located in downtown Raleigh, incorporating dueling pianos to keep the crowd constantly entertained with lively "sing along" tunes. The piano players rotate, so there is never a dead moment in the merriment. Last night everything was geared toward the 70's and the crowd was thoroughly enjoying it. Many of the customers wore 70's clothing to add to the retro atmosphere. Requests were taken by the piano players if a tip was included. The bigger the tip...the higher up the "playing chain" your tune was placed.

A basic over 40's crowd arrived early in the evening, with the entertainment starting at 7p.m. A younger crowd began arriving around 10:00p.m. and the place started to get really crowded, but it also pumped up the energy level with the influx of all the additional people.

My only problem with the evening was in the form of an over six foot tall, bulging muscled bouncer who seemed to enjoy intimidating the crowd. He made it a point to turn the two tables, I was sitting at with my friends, on an angle, which made sitting at the tables very awkward. When we turned them back to their original settings, he came over...turned them back on an angle, slammed unoccupied chairs into place, then stormed off. It was the rudest thing I'd ever seen happen in a club of any kind I've been too. We left. Maybe he was hoping to run us off. We had stopped ordering drinks and all our requests had been played so we were no longer tipping the piano players. I think he wanted us to go, so the places we were monopolizing could be filled by new paying customers. However, we had dropped quite a bit of cash in the place and didn't like the idea that as soon as they could no longer wring any more money out of us...we were made to feel uncomfortable, so we'd leave. We considered complaining to the manager, but decided to just leave quietly.

Will I go back to Rum Runners again? Probably. It was fun right up till the last twenty minutes we were there. I will even recommend Rum Runners to friends. However, if the same unwelcoming behavior is repeated when I visit again...I will take the time to complain to the manager and not return.