JESSICA SUAREZ/Arizona Summer Wildcat Jim Anderson sits on the Meet Rackâs throne with a scepter (of his head) in hand.

Unusual and bizarre bars create new experience for patrons

Some bars use cheap drink specials to lure in customers. Some use big screen TVs and sexy bartenders. Still other bars use a memorable appearance and word-of-mouth to attract the curious. Two such bars here in Tucson ÷ the Shelter, a playboy-grotto-style cocktail lounge, and the Meet Rack, a dive bar ÷ strive to become experiences for their patrons, not just places to grab a beer. After all, lots of college drinking stories start out with, ãI got totally drunk last night!ä but not many end with, ã·and then I got branded!ä

The Shelter, 4155 E. Grant Road, once rumored to be a bomb shelter, was built in the nuclear-paranoid 1960s. Either as a response to or a commentary on the paranoia, the whole building was made to look like a bomb shelter.

Inside, the dŽcor is a cross between a set from an Austin Powers movie and Hugh Hefnerâs bedroom. Swag lighting, leopard print wallpaper and lava lamps all contribute to the mid-century atmosphere, an ambiance that attracts a good mix of people all day long.

ãThe crowd is really diverse. It depends on what time it is,ä bartender Stacy Cryts said. ãIf itâs early, it tends to be an older crowd. At night, itâs mostly younger people in their twenties.ä

The bizarre collection of John F. Kennedy memorabilia, which includes shag tapestries of the Kennedyâs and plastic lit signs of the beloved president, occasionally invite the sticky fingers of drunk customers. The tapestries have been stolen so often that the owners have had them covered in plastic.

Other parts of the Shelter also get lifted.

ãThe big ashtrays get taken a lot,ä said Cryts, who also said a portion of the leopard-print wallpaper had been swiped from the ladies room. The bar now keeps the big boomerang-shaped ashtrays where bartenders can keep an eye on them.

The Shelterâs longevity and time-capsule interior werenât the only draw for masters of education student Mike Brady.

ãItâs in my neighborhood, just a neighborhood bar,ä Brady said. He started the night out at the Meet Rack, then drank his way across town to the Shelter.

ãItâs (The Shelter) closer to my house, so I can drink here or walk home, or drink here and sleep in my car,ä he laughed.

While he is a loyal patron of both the Meet Rack and The Shelter, he notes that they have almost nothing in common.

ãBoth bars have lots of personality, but theyâre on opposite ends of the spectrum,ä he said.

Complete opposites, yes, but both are pretty unusual. While the Shelter has drinks and a pool table, the Meet Rack has, well, no drinks and a room full of sex devices.

The Meet Rack, on Drachman Street west of Stone Avenue, has reached near mythical status in Tucson. While the bar has no recognizable drinks, just one beer on tap and isnât listed in any phone book, itâs been the subject of magazine articles and TV segments.

All of this attention is due mostly to its legendary purveyor, Jim ãGodä Anderson. If one asks for ãthe tour,ä they can see exactly why Anderson is so well-known. Pictures from Andersonâs days as a boxer, boxing promoter, actor and bar owner line the walls. There are photos from a movie he was in with Arnold Schwarzenegger, ãThe Villain.ä Playboy and Rolling Stone articles about his previous bar, Someplace Else, are also posted, along with warnings to Anderson from the Liquor board, urging him to stop appearing in the nude at other bars if he wants to keep his license.

ãJimâs a narcissist,ä said Shawn Halstead, a former bartender and official tour-guide. Halstead, who graduated from the UA in 2001, worked at the Meet Rack while attending school.

ãThis is the weirdest place in Tucson,ä he said.

JESSICA SUAREZ/Arizona Summer Wildcat Jim Cryts shoots a game of pool at The Shelter in their leopard print covered lounge.

ãIf there was someplace weirder, I would have worked there,ä Halstead said.

Patrons who still think the place seems pretty normal are directed to the locked room near the entrance. Inside are various sexual devices used to enhance female or male pleasure. In appearance, they range from somewhat gynecological to downright torturous.

ãWe only have one rule,ä said Anderson, who also said lots of sorority girls and their boyfriends have asked for the room.

ãYou canât kiss a girl above the waist, unless sheâs upside down.ä And there is, of course, a device that handles that.

While the bar appears to be a cross between a monument to Anderson and a sadomasochistic sex cave, Anderson himself is surprisingly affable.

ãWhat we put in the bar is everything we like. I cater to people who like what I like,ä said Anderson, whose daughter is the official owner of the Meet Rack.

He describes his bar as being comfortable and noticeable, which, despite appearances, is quite comfortable and laid back. First time visitors often become regulars, and regulars have even formed a drinking club on Monday nights, complete with an official title and business cards for members.

And if you are tempted to save some change on drinks, thereâs one way you can receive fifty cents off any drink for life at the Meet Rack: They can get branded with a portrait of Anderson.

If you think no one is crazy enough to get a picture of Anderson seared into their skin, you only need to look near the bathroom, where a framed picture of brandees #500 and #501 proudly display their freshly burned skin.

ãIt doesnât say bar outside, it says party,ä said Anderson, referring to the sign out front.

ãWe get money for booze, but what weâre selling is a good time.ä

One person who got branded didnât have such a good time. She took Anderson to the Peopleâs Court for branding her, claiming she was incoherently drunk when she was branded. Anderson won the case, and is getting ready to sell tapes of his appearance, along with footage of the barâs dog food eating contest, and other clips. If a videotape or a brand isnât souvenir enough for your experience at the Meet Rack, you can purchase a key ring with Andersonâs smiling portrait on it, along with his preferred name ÷ ãGodä ÷ and the words, ãIâll ruin your life.ä

And you thought you were just coming in for a beer.