Hey hey hey.
The idea for Bilbee’s Tavern came to me when I was planning out my Love You, Maine series.
Everything in Luview, Maine is all about love. Gooey, mushy love. Sweet love. Sugary sweetness and all that.
Sickly sweet love.
Now, it’s a fantasy world (set in reality, but you know what I mean), which forced me to think about how I could have some contrarians in the town. Romance novels - even side characters - have more oomph when there’s some conflict.
Enter the Bilbee family, and Bilbee’s Tavern in particular.
And you paid subscribers are about to get a very fun Bilbee’s Tavern freebie. :)
The bar is a town fixture, older than dirt, established in the late 1700s. There’s a place like Bilbee’s Tavern in most small towns throughout New England - the local “dive bar” that often surprises out-of-towners with something special. Maybe it’s a menu item. Perhaps the decor is more unique than expected. Outstanding local bands. Or a fine microbrew hits the spot.
Whatever it is, there’s just a little something special that makes what you thought was a falling apart piece of trash more special and endearing than you ever imagined.
Here’s the moment you first enter Bilbee’s Tavern in Love You Right, as Rachel Hart seeks out some good food and a better internet connection:
The ancient building leaned a bit, the porch creaky and in such disrepair she strongly suspected it was last painted in 1788, the year the tavern was established, according to the sign.
Bilbee’s Tavern, it read, with the motto: “If we don’t have it, you shouldn’t be drinking it.”
A goat was stomping on a red heart.
Great. If Kell was grumpy, his cousins were downright scary.
The bar smelled like woodsmoke and sour beer. Every floorboard groaned as she stepped on it. Patrons were sitting in booths and at tables, and a group of guys were playing pool in one corner.
“Rachel,” said a guy at the bar. He was tatted up and looked like he’d lost an eye in a fight with a bald eagle, huge, long-healed scratches around an eye patch. “What can I get you?”
“How do you know my name?”
“Because I spent the last day listening to people gripe about you.”
“You must be a Bilbee.”
“Rider.”
“Hi, Rider. I’m here to get your falafel plate, to go.”
“Cool. You know, you could have ordered ahead with the app.”
“You have an app?”
“Yep.”
“I had no idea.”
“Kenny didn’t put it on his little Airbnb suck-up page?”
“Excuse me?”
“Kenny’s trying to impress all the trailer tourists. Thought he had it on there.”
“I might not have read the whole thing.”
“Okay. Get the app. A lot easier.”
He began keying her order into a shockingly modern system as Rachel looked around.
“What’s the deal with your sign out there?”
“What about it?”
“The goat? Stomping on a heart? What’s it mean?”
He shrugged. “I dunno. Some version of that sign’s been there since 1788. Started with the goat, and I think old Randall Bilbee added the heart when the Love Committee required everyone to have a heart on their sign. The old version had the goat eating the heart, but my grandpa softened it up. Got some complaints from locals who said it was too harsh and scared visitors.” He peered at Rachel with his one eye. “Maybe I should change it back.”
“Charming,” she said under her breath, handing him her credit card to finish the transaction.
“If you want charm, go to the hot springs. We’re not about charm. Be about five minutes. You picked a slow time.”
Rider disappeared into the back, leaving Rachel to look around. There was an antique authenticity to the place, with low ceilings and windows crooked in their frames. Two small wood stoves on opposite sides of the bar gave the air a cozy feel, and an array of television screens mounted on the wall showed four different games at once. Eight college guys were in a giant horseshoe booth in the back, cheering each other on through tequila shots.
Creating a logo for Bilbee’s Tavern was a ton of fun. And the tagline I invented:
If we don’t have it, you shouldn’t drink it
Made me laugh and laugh and laugh.
Now this post is for PAID subscribers only, and here’s the deal: you get a free coaster from Bilbee’s Tavern if you want one. Isn’t it adorable?
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