Bill's Drinking Establishment

Bill's is your standard hole-in-the-wall dive bar; but it's a friendly place none the less. We walked in the door and people did look at us awkwardly, only for a second though. We found a seat at a high-top table near the bar and the bartender left the bar and came over to greet us. This may seem pretty basic but from our experience not all bartenders feel they ever need to leave their perch behind the bar. She was pleasant and quick to get us what we wanted. She even brought us some of their FREE popcorn with our beer and we didn't even ask! That was impressive and completely unexpected. It's the little things that count. I was literally amazed with the gesture. The only other thing she could have done to amaze me more would've been to salt my bev nap before placing my wet mug on it so the glass didn't stick to the napkin - but no one has EVER done that! Anyways, as soon as our pitchers (we were with a couple other people, not just the two of us) were gone, she was over right away asking if we would like another, which we gladly accepted because we were enjoying ourselves. Side note, they had comically small beer mugs (muglets?) and we took a picture next to our fist for perspective.  See the attached photo for a laugh.

Bill's is a great place to wind-down and have conversation. There is mega-touch, a pool table in back and did I mention, free popcorn?! I can see Bill's falling into the same general category as Al's Blue Toad because it is a neighborhood bar that most people would go to because they live nearby (and we did when we lived nearby.) Being on the main drag of Marion may not be a great way to attract business...but we did get a great parking spot right outside the front door!!!

In the grand scheme of things, we have decided there are two categories for regulars to fall into, hostile, and non-confrontational. This is definitely the latter. Some bars make new people feel unwelcome, and Bill's could easily slip into that rut, but I think most of the regulars and staff here know they need to grow to stay in business, and generally welcome anyone with a dollar a thirst for alcohol...which is the right attitude for a bar to take.

P.S. Bill's is another CASH ONLY ESTABLISHMENT :-P ATM charges $3.00 to use! Oh, and the pitchers were on the high end at $6.75 a pop!

The Grades:
Atmosphere: 6
Not a ton of seating, older, a little run down, and old dirty bathrooms.
Service: 6
We almost always get served and welcomed by the bartender!
Food: N/A
Only popcorn here. (FREE)