Shanachie Pub Willits

Fun bluegrass jam every Sat.

Nice bar, great open mic every Wednesday Stop here for a mellow evening of good music, people and beer This little bar is tucked in behind the storefronts on S. Main just in from E. Commercial. This is an area in need of some new business, but the Shanachie Pub is doing its part to make the neighborhood attractive. You get to it by walking between two buildings with a fresh sign painted by a local artist. That gets you to the patio garden and behind the garden is the small bar and stage / dance floor sharing a building. Behind the bar is good service, a great selection of beer and wine worthy of their region that produces it. Some people behind the bar putting glasses into the wash and clearing tables do not work there. They are regular patrons lending a hand. It is that kind of friendly, local place where someone from out of town can be very welcome. There is a fuzzy spectrum that blends regular patrons, regular performers and staff. I got positive reactions when telling people that I am from Oakland. A man from San Diego took the stage and also got a warm welcome. Like everyone who took the stage, the guy from San Diego could really hold his own. The whole of Open Mic Night did not have a single performer who did not belong on stage. Unlike so many places, the in house sound system was well built and well managed. One can check ahead by email and they answer promptly, for a bar. If coming to or through Willits, four nights a week this is a good place for music if you can wait for the 8pm showtime. Any night it is a great place for a beer or glass of wine outside in the garden.