New Scaratings

I just read in Facebook that Fab Ferns in St. Paul is closing May 30. They were a formidable Showdown team in the 90s according to TMPLAR. They also had some strong performances in some of the Smartest Bar Six contests.

Charlie Senkler, the principal owner of Fabulous Ferns and a dynamic front-of-the-house presence, died unexpectedly a little more than three years ago. He brought a lot of energy, was universally respected and often loved, and in hindsight appears to have been irreplaceable.

I've never heard from any Twin Cities' player that Fern's wasn't one of our top three local destinations. JOHNL, this is very melancholy news.

Charlie use to come to the Bungalow Bar in Lakeland MN to visit BRUJA and TMPLAR when I played there. He was quite a raconteur.

FabFerns is in a great location,in a good neighborhood,not that far from downtown Saint Paul.It had a nice relaxed atmosphere that was condusive to playing trivia.On Tuesday nights they had tables reserved for trivia.I remember once playing showdown with 14 players.They did make their customers number one.Several times I heard management mention the importance of the customer.They had a bar area and a dining area and appeared to have excellent business .Years ago they had a fairly large base of loyal trivia players.They still have a small base of loyal trivia players.Several people that use to play there now have moved on to other places or do not play trivia anymore.Yes,it was fun playing there. Of course it is sad they are closing their doors.

Was this the bar where you guys got calls from two other trivia bars on a Sunday, one mad that you guys had aced several in a row, and one congratulating you?

That was the Golden Horde, GYPSY, playing Lunchtime at Fabulous Ferns on either a Tuesday or Friday. They were having one of those sessions in which they pull down 40-50 golds over a couple hours, which they do fairly often; and, if memory serves, they got three calls from two different players. My being there was mere happenstance.

WANYE, the one member of the Horde whose thoughts tend not to be discernably linear, was deputized to respond. "No, we're not cheating, it's just one of those days," and "You're not cheating either, are you?" and "No, we don't play anywhere regularly, but we do play regularly," and other such pleasantries were bandied about.

You probably heard about this from WANYE himself, at B-52. I didn't overhear any of the conversations, and your memory of what WANYE reported might be better than my own.

The Horde only plays two Lunchtimes a week, Tuesdays and Fridays, and they've aggregated more than a thousand gold medals at BWW-Mall of America. I never know where they're playing - typically not at the Mall, where the tablets are unreliable - but if anyone from out of town would be interested in joining them, I can find out for you. I do know they'll be playing a farewell session at Ferns on Tuesday, May 29.

GYPSY PM'd me with a message to this effect:

"I was there too, ya doofus."

She even remembered what she had for lunch.

Ferns was my Twin Cities go to when I was travelling. Hello Tomasz and SkinnyDip!

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Merkin

I paid my last respects this morning and afternoon.I arrived about 10 minutes prior to opening.They let me in early.The place as usual was spotless.The food was of high standards.The service as usual was outstanding .It was prompt,friendly,and our food and beverage needs were met.Conner exceeded expectations as did other staff members Slowly, people trickled in many like myself to thank,bid goodbye and wish only the best in the future for the owner and staff .I reaquainted myself with many customers.One, actually played trivia.He was a regular trivia player.I was told they expected many wellwishers throughout the day.As usual ,a buzztime friendly trivia atmosphere was present.They also had two gentlemen in the place to help the outgoing employees find new jobs.It's too bad such an iconic,trivia friendly restaurant that has high cleanliness,product and service standards is closing.