After a Decade at DIK Bar, Bear Happy Hour Moves to JR.’s
The longtime monthly gathering, organized by Fergus, will hold a soft opening at its new 17th Street home on August 21.
“It started as an excuse to get people together,” says Fergus O’Brien, a local realtor who prefers to go by his first name, referring to the monthly gathering he has organized for a decade and that, until this week, was known as “DIK Bar Bear Happy Hour.”
“Over time, it became a community of its own, and it’s always evolving,” Fergus adds. “People come to catch up with old friends, meet new ones, and enjoy a setting where conversation doesn’t have to compete with loud music. It’s really about bringing people together and all that entails.”
The latest iteration began in 2016 at DIK Bar, which sits above Dupont Italian Kitchen, a 17th Street mainstay. It draws members of the gay bear community — generally hairier, heavier-set gay men — along with their admirers and members of bear-adjacent LGBTQ subgroups, including otters and “silver daddies,” or gay men over 50.
Held on the second Friday of each month, the happy hour gives attendees a relaxed, low-pressure setting to reconnect with friends, expand their social circles, and flirt over drinks.
But now Bear Happy Hour is leaving its DIK Bar berth for JR.’s, a few blocks down 17th Street.
“Ultimately, DIK Bar is looking to pivot to something else,” says Fergus. “I don’t know the full story, but they were kind of losing interest in hosting us, and I think they’re looking to do something else with the bar. So I was really looking for a new venue, and someone who really wanted to work with us and was committed to our cause.”
After scouting several venues, Fergus chose JR.’s partly because it’s on the same street as Annie’s, the longtime steakhouse popular with many Bear Happy Hour regulars.
“The neighborhood is just such a great fit for us because it’s the old-school gayborhood and we tend to attract a bit of an older crowd,” he says, “even though we’re looking to reach out to as many people of different ages, races, and backgrounds as possible.”
Bear Happy Hour will hold a “soft opening” at JR.’s on Friday, August 21. The relocated event has yet to be formally renamed, but JR.’s will host it on the second Friday of each month beginning in September. Depending on turnout and feedback from patrons and JR.’s management, Fergus says he may expand the event to twice a month.
For Bear Happy Hour, JR.’s will extend its regular happy hour specials — $5 rail drinks and $8 vodka Red Bulls — to 9 p.m.
Upgrades will cost more, Fergus says, citing $8 Skyy vodka and $11 Tito’s as examples. “JR.’s said they’re amenable to additional drink specials going forward,” he adds. “It’s definitely a work in progress.”
Food remains unresolved. Past Bear Happy Hour venues have offered attendees free pizza or other food, but JR.’s does not currently serve food. Fergus hopes to address that later but is now focused on spreading the word about the move.
Fergus considers Bear Happy Hour’s greatest success its ability to make people who might otherwise stay home feel comfortable going out.
“Some people aren’t looking for a typical bar scene,” he says. “Some are shy, some don’t want to go out alone, and some just prefer a more relaxed environment. It’s not about standing and staring and trying to be the hottest guy in the room.
“Over the years, I’ve had people tell me, ‘I thought I was done with bars years ago, and then I found you guys,'” he adds. “That’s probably the best compliment we can get.”
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