Blue Ribbon Tap finds niche on Sioux City's Pearl Street

The Pearl Street bar is the most recent addition to Bertrand’s lineup of Pearl Street drinking establishments and finds its niche with a throwback feel. Bertrand also owns McCarthy and Bailey's Irish Pub and Pearl’s Wine & Booze.

“All of my properties have a different feel, there’s nothing like them in Sioux City,” Bertrand said. “The Blue Ribbon Tab has a late-1960s, Archie Bunker, blue collar feel. And Sioux City is a hardworking, blue collar kind of town.”

That retro ambiance comes from a mixture of lime green shag carpet, walnut paneling, gaudy flowered wallpaper and old-school beers.

The drink list includes such staples as Pabst Blue Ribbon, Grain Belt and Hamm’s.

The Blue Ribbon Tap’s name and red, white and blue logo are also based off Pabst Blue Ribbon’s iconic brand of beer.

Bertrand said local beer distributors told him the bar was the first in Sioux City to have PBR on tap in nine years. Some of his competitors have since started pouring the brand as well.

Throw in cheap prices and daily specials, and you have a recipe for success, Bertrand said.

“Pearl Street is turning into a destination downtown,” said Bertrand, who is also a Republican state senator from Sioux City. “People are parking their cars and spending the night there. If you are on Pearl Street, I know I can get you in two of my three bars. Maybe all three.”

The eventual opening of the downtown Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, now under construction, should only mean better business for any shop or bar on Pearl Street.

Bertrand, a Sioux City businessman and developer, was one of the most vocal opponents of the City Council's decision to vacate the street for the casino project, which he argued would divert the natural flow of traffic on Pearl.

Despite the high-profile fight, he remains a big supporter of the Hard Rock, which is projected to draw more than 2 million people annually downtown. Many of the visitors will stop and spend money at Bertrand's establishments just up the block.

The Blue Ribbon Tap opened in July and has been going strong ever since.

The self-described "dive bar" speaks to a more politically incorrect time. An outdoor sign encourages patrons to "drink, smoke and play."

The inspiration for the Blue Ribbon Tap, Bertrand said, was the hole-in-the-wall bars that his own father frequented when he was a kid.

"This is the type of bar that your dad would drag you in," he said. "He'd say he was taking you for a haircut, but he'd sneak you in to have a PBR."

Blue Ribbon Tap General Manager Ryan Brun previously said the throwback decor appeals to multiple generations.

"It's something that's kind of nostalgic for the older crowd that grew up in the '70s. They come in here and their minds go back to the good old days," Brun said. "The younger kids come in and it's a brand new feel to them."

Creating a unique feel is also crucial to success, Bertrand said.

All of his bars have their own niches in Sioux City.

"McCarthy & Bailey's and Pearl's are more of a cold weather destination," he said. "We knew we needed a more summerlike venue with a patio that would help balance the street throughout the year."