Backstage Bar

debuts delciously at Choo Choo

After months of construction, East 14th Street, which runs alongside the Chattanooga Choo Choo, has finally reopened to pedestrians. And, in droves, those pedestrians are now discovering Backstage Bar, the entrance for which opens onto that freshly cobbled street.

Backstage Bar first opened, in conjunction with Comedy Catch, on the Southside last year. While the two businesses are attached — in the sense that they share an address and a kitchen — Backstage is a separate space, complete with its own entrance and hours.

Co-owner Cheryl Alfano describes Backstage Bar as “an upscale hole-inthe-wall with a whiskey-rustic atmosphere.” The space is cozy — with exposed brick walls, a high-top community table, a towering shelf of liquors and an enormous round chandelier fixed to its high ceiling.

It features a long patio, called the “back porch,” where there is a guitar and microphone set up in one corner. Cheryl called it the “plug and play,” and patrons are invited to use it for impromptu jam sessions whenever they’d like.

But, aside from drinks and a never-ending open mic, “the food is worth coming for all on its own,” Cheryl said.

She described the menu as “bar food with a flair.” Backstage boasts a bevy of bar favorites such as nachos supreme, roasted jalapeno poppers, breaded mozzarella and burgers. But it also offers a lengthy list of salads, sliders and sandwiches — including unique recipes such as the Buffalo shrimp grilled cheese — made with shrimp, cheddar cheese, blue cheese and Buffalo hot sauce, served on grilled Bluff View multigrain bread.

Backstage’s dessert menu includes delectable options such as the “Berrilicious” chocolate brownie cobbler and apple bread pudding.

Then, every Saturday and Sunday, Backstage hosts its Blue Collar Brunch, showcasing what Cheryl described as “homey items”: pulled pork sweet potato hash; the “Chicken n’ Waffle Club;” and the “Ole Standby,” composed of two eggs, sausage or bacon, fresh fruit or home fries, and toast — to name a few dishes.

And then, of course, there are the brunch drink specials, which include bottomless mimosas and the “Station Street Bloody Mary,” a 22-ounce drink made with a double shot of Tito’s vodka, house-made bloody mary mix, olives, green beans, lemon, lime, bacon, shrimp and artichoke hearts. “It’s a meal in itself,” Cheryl said. Indeed, the food makes coming to Backstage a worthwhile trip all on its own.