Toby Keith's saloon has that new-bar smell

The hottest night spot to hit the Twin Cities in years is ... a country bar?

Believe it. After several cryptic opening dates (the last one being "late spring"), Toby Keith's I Love This Bar & Grill finally has opened in St. Louis Park.

Anticipation for the supersized saloon has been boot-scootingly high, as evidenced by the bar's 6,000 Facebook fans. While its operators did little to advertise the bar's opening last Friday, more than 600 people filled the joint where Twin Cities country singer Shane Wyatt performed. (Keith wasn't there.)

By Tuesday, the bar was firing on all cylinders. At 7 p.m., the bar had already hit capacity (north of 850), forcing a line out of the door and snaking around the building.

Inside, a massive sea of people stood shoulder-to-shoulder drinking beer out of Mason jars. A few guys in the crowd wore Stetsons. The mostly female servers wore a uniform of tight black tank tops, short denim skirt and cowboy boots. The rumored mechanical bull had yet to make its debut.

Tuesday's K102-hyped festivities featured a live performance by South Carolina's Lee Brice, an up-and-coming country singer who hit the stage wearing a John Deere trucker hat and brandishing a Jack Daniel's branded guitar. Plans call for live music six nights a week with no cover charge on most nights.

Named for Keith's hit song, "I Love This Bar," the Minnesota version is the seventh location in the rapidly growing chain. The gigantic space (14,700 square feet) dwarfs the neighboring Cooper at the West End. It's basically one big room. A barn, if you will. At almost 90 feet, its guitar-shaped bar is surely the largest in the Twin Cities. Looming overhead, a replica of Keith's American flag guitar stretches across the ceiling. With its large cache of high-def TVs, the spot will double as a sports bar.

As for the food, it's Southern fare with a Toby Keith twist. Look for: "whiskey girl" wings, "big daddy" burgers, cheese "freedom" fries and deep-fried Twinkies. The bar also has a gift shop where you can buy the country singer's merchandise. The St. Louis Park location and several others are owned by Arizona-based Capri Restaurant Group. A spokesperson for the company described Keith's involvement in the business as "a partnership."

So when will Keith grace us with his presence? If all goes according to plan, he's expected to visit the bar in late July to coincide with a Twin Cities tour stop. From the bar's packed first week, I'm sure fans are only thinking one thing: Giddy up.

thorgen@startribune.com • 612-673-7909

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