Bottoms Up!
The Bottom serves up good times to good people in new upscale dive-bar atop the Wicked Hen in Midtown.
By Frank Etheridge
Like all great bartenders, Whit Prophet is quick with a joke.
“Well first off, I got bills to pay,” he quips during a late-afternoon shift last month when asked what motivates him to get up and go to work everyday. “No, actually, I do enjoy bartending. It’s a passion. I enjoy meeting people. You may have an experience with a person who’s having the worst day of their life. I may be able to make it better for them, put a smile on their face, say hello, have their favorite drink waiting for them when they walk in”
A well-seasoned service industry pro who’s done everything from wash dishes to consultation for building big-budget new bars from the ground up, Prophet, 44, recently returned to his hometown of Columbus after 11 years in Charleston, South Carolina (home to the Southern hospitality gold standard as far as food, drink and service) and now looks to make your day better at The Bottom, the “oxymoronic upscale dive bar experience” he developed with buddy Bryant Walker, owner/operator and executive chef of Wicked Hen and Stock Market Dueling Kitchens on Broadway. The two partners opened in the space – an intimate inside, super-chill balcony space outside – above the Wicked Hen. The name reflects pride in its Lakebottom location, with a logo inspired by the Japanese-style waterways and bridges featured in the park when it was first developed by the Flournoy family more than 100 years ago.
“The idea was to create a friendly neighborhood place,” Prophet says, adding that he and Bryant first became friends riding bikes around their neighborhoods near Blanchard Elementary School, and that their families have become family. “It’s bar food with a twist.[The] drink menu is very classic, not over the top. The drinks will change over time but will always be relatively simple stuff made very well.”
Prophet points to menu highlights such as the super-yum Nashville-style hot chicken sandwich, featuring Wickles Pickles and Midland Ghost Pepper Hot Sauce with freshly shaved Cole slaw. Other crowd-pleasing bites are the house-fried pork rinds and loaded French fries, double-battered and topped with bacon, cheddar cheese, crème fraiche and green onions. Popular cocktails include the espresso martinis and the Bottom Punch with Bacardi Silver and Spiced Rum, triple sec, and juices. Noting that they “want to make it as affordable as possible, too,” the menu prices are on point and offers deals such as $2.50 PBR tall boys.
Asked about what, exactly, defines an oxymoronic experience, Prophet is quick to wit again. “Just come talk to me – that’s an oxymoronic experience,” he jokes, standing in front of a freshly installed Jägermeister shot machine as Queens of Stone Age plays on his killer Spotify playlist. “What that means is really about the space itself. The music. The feeling. The intentional dumbed-downess of it all. It’s me injecting my personality into the place. Where everyone is welcome and free to speak their mind.”
“When they first opened up and I saw it billed as an oxymoronic dive bar, I knew when they said that, it would be a new and interesting vibe,” says regular Kevin Mullins, who lives a few blocks away and fits right in with a crowd ranging from the country-club happy hour set, professional movers-and-shakers, musicians, writers, delightful degenerates, colorful characters and everyone in between. “I’m very familiar with the space, from when it was just the Wicked Hen, and Miriam’s before that.”
“What makes or breaks a place is their staff,” Mullins continues. “If they’re friendly and personable and greet you by name, get to know your favorites, that’s what separates one place from another. Here, the staff is super friendly. And the crowd that comes in, half of them I know, and the other half I make friends with. This is becoming a true neighborhood place. You have a great outdoor balcony to enjoy the greenery of the park. Inside, it’s laid back in the weekday evenings and on weekends popping with crowds of folks. I’m getting to know the people that are becoming regulars and we’ve got a little vibe going.”
Sitting next to Mullins on the Bottom’s balcony, Chis Andrews explains that he was born and raised in Columbus but recently moved back from Virginia and now resides in Bibb City. “It reminds me so much of this hole-in-the wall I went to back in Virginia. It’s small. It’s an easy, nice place to have a beer, or a cocktail, and talk with some folks. Most of us, when we go out, we’re looking for people to talk to. Here, you can actually talk to people. Enjoy conversation. That, to me, is the nice thing about this place.”
“There’s nothing like this in Midtown,” Prophet explains of the Bottom’s instant success. “A lot of people have been thirsting for this, from what I can see, for quite a while. They don’t want to have to go all the way downtown and have to deal with parking and crowds. They can come here, have a couple of drinks and eat some good food, and they’re out, with an easy drive home.”
In addition to its popular draw as a neighborhood watering hole, the Bottom is all about booking live music.
“Music is the key to what we’re doing,” Prophet says, “and it bolsters the whole bar. We have very great food and cocktails here, but the focal point is the music end of it. It’s my passion. When we have music, that seems to be when people are packing this place out.”
Prophet has already booked a stellar roster of local talent – from heavy blues to country-folk to jam-grass – for all of September. He credits frequent performer Jake Hess as bringing a great crowd and a campfire sing-along vibe and Andy Freeman as making for magical nights, as was the case when he jammed with singer April Norris, who went a cappella for the “I’m going hungry!” refrain from Temple of the Dog’s “Hunger Strike” that had the whole bar singing in unison.
“I’ve always been a big proponent of sharing great music with people,” Prophet says. “Music is a big part of my life, a big part of me.”
The Bottom is at 1350 13th St. (above Wicked Hen Restaurant). Currently open Mon.-Sat. 4 p.m.-midnight, @thebottom.bar.