St. Louis On The Cheap: Babe's

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Nestled just on the edge of South City is Babe's, a fun and cheap neighborhood bar that has been quietly drawing crowds in from all over the city for almost 25 years. Babe's is located about four blocks from Arsenal on Ivanhoe in a signature South City, shotgun style store-front that has housed a bar in some incarnation for almost 70 years. Matt Schmidt, who co-owns the bar with his father Bill Schmidt, isn't offended when you call it a dive bar but he would describe it a little differently, "It's definitely a city bar... clean and comfortable is what we shoot for."

Babe's is as welcoming and comfortable to me as my blue-jeans, especially when I am on overload from stuffy bars and high drink prices but not feeling a dive. Inside there are TV's, a fireplace, and rich wood work reminiscent of an English pub - and it is definitely a clean place with dive bar prices. It is storied that the interior was replicated from a Brit pub, and outside there is a heated and covered patio that is open year round to house private parties, bands, and bar overflow.

Schmidt says that during the week the bar is full of the usual suspects, and he pretty much knows who is going to be there before he arrives. On the weekends Babe's gets a little busier and it is a different crowd with a variety of people in their their late 20's to later 40's. I have visited a couple of times, usually on weekends, and the crowd really is a mixed bag. You will see anything from Cards fans camping at a table in front of the TV and ordering pizza in (Babe's doesn't serve food, but doesn't mind if you get delivery or carry in) to bar-hopping crowds mingling on the patio.

Babe's is an great casual and cheap city bar located at . They are open Monday through Friday from 2pm until 1:30am and Saturday from 4pm until 1:30pm. Babe's will also be participating in the Ivanhoe Block Party November 1st from noon until 6pm - keep watching for more details on that!