Owner wants patrons to have a good time, ‘whatever it takes'
If you're into beer pong, pool and darts and you like dancing to a Top 40 DJ spinning your favorite hits while you chug drink specials under cool blue lights with no cover charge, Chasers is the bar for you.
On top of all that Chasers also is the only bar along downtown's St. Paul Street strip that offers free parking after 10 p.m. in a lot directly across the street from the club's entrance.
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“I come here for the atmosphere,” says Jenelle Whitfield, 22, of Spencerport, a regular patron. “The ratio of guys to girls is pretty even, the music's great, and the drink specials are phenomenal.”
T.J. Ferris, 33, of Rochester, one of the bar's four owners, says people come to his bar because it makes them feel comfortable.
“We're extremely laid-back, and we draw a good mix of people in their 20s and 30s,” he says.
Ferris adds that “the women don't feel like they're out on display because everyone is just really friendly and here to have a good time.”
After checking out a Thursday night at Chasers, I'd have to agree. At one point during the evening the owner even bought the bar a round of shots. Now that's hospitality!
There are TVs everywhere to catch a game and a spacious dance floor for tearin' it up late at night, not to mention a really long bar.
Friday and Saturday nights are ladies nights at Chasers with $1 well drinks and $1 drafts all night. The bar also offers $5 pitchers for beer pong players.
“It's something we offer all the time for the college kids,” explains Jennifer Dewine, 23, of Fairport, one of Chasers' veteran bartenders.
Dewine loves her job because “the owners are awesome, and the crowd is very diverse, which keeps you on your toes.”
She also notices that when people “bar hop” into Chasers, they end up staying for the rest of the night.
Besides Top 40 tunes, Chasers' jukebox has everything from Frank Sinatra and Billy Joel to Guns 'N' Roses and the Gin Blossoms.
“We started as a sports bar, but it's evolved into a sports bar/nightclub,” says Ferris.
Chasers was built from scratch in May 2003.
The owners realized that to compete in the area they needed to have a great sound system and dancing.
Chris Close, 24, and Auggie Murgillo, 26, both of Rochester, are two of the club's bouncers.
“The owners make it fun to work here, plus all my friends come in here,” Murgillo says.
I caught Close chillin' there on his night off for “the good atmosphere and great drink specials,” he says.
Meanwhile, “If someone wants to get up and dance on the bar, we pretty much don't care,” Ferris says. “We want people to have a good time, and we'll do whatever it takes to let people have a good time.”
