The Dr. Who themed space redefines the bar experience with events curated to a nerdy clientele.
The Way Station, located in Prospect Heights, certainly offers a healthy variety of traditional bar activities: it’s the Prospect Heights’ venue for Geeks Who Drink, the national trivia company where losers who can’t free up RAM in their brains for more useful knowledge get to compete for *bragging rights* for their ability to call up the year Arizona was granted statehood. It offers a wide variety of live music acts (The Crevulators, February 2nd; Ghost Component, February 15th; more information available here: www.thewaystationbk.com
But in the era of personal brands and infinite marketing capabilities, The Way Station has established itself as a certified nerd bar. The interior decoration offers winks to Dr. Who and Stranger Things fans; a string of Christmas lights hanging along a wall asks Stranger Things fans if they’re out there? It even offers “nerdeoke” every Sunday night and if you’ve ever marveled at the omission of They Might Be Giants songs from the musical menus at other karaoke bars, this may be your calling.
If that’s not enough, The Way Station’s website offers a full calendar of events, including even more unusual bar activities, like nights of biology and astronomy on tap (the 13th and 20th, respectively, this month). These evenings revolve around themed talks where customers can bond over a shared interest that is often-let’s face it-somewhat overlooked by venues catering to the nightlife crowd.
The decor and the bar’s nerdy vibe
s also reflected in the cocktails: the 11th Doctor and the Mr. Pond match the bar’s TARDIS (the restroom) and other Dr. Who references. But customers can also order select galactic-inspired cocktails from the new cocktail cookbook THE COCKTAIL GUIDE TO THE GALAXY authored by none other than Andy Heidel, the Way Station’s owner himself. (The book, published by the venerable sci-fi publisher TOR, is available for purchase through Amazon.)
The craft beer selection is not huge in number (the bar boasts only a few taps), but the selection is prestigious, including beers from craft breweries around the country. Above the tap list, scribbled nearly illegible on a chalkboard, beer aficionados can find the date the tap lines were last cleaned.
Although the bar itself is too small to offer the luxuries of a kitchen, a close relationship with Citrico, a nearby Mexican restaurant renders this absence almost negligible. Patrons are welcome to bring their orders over to the bar, and even on the occasional evening trivia night, a lull in questions will be punctuated by a query of “Who ordered tacos?”
In a city where rent drives us to cohabitate in small spaces with strangers, New Yorkers are often forced to find communal spaces beyond the comfort of their own homes. The Way Station offers a nerdvana oasis for Brooklynites and New Yorkers to converge around a mutual passion for all things sci-fi and geeky.
