Divisadero's Latest Bar Is McKlucky's

Divisadero's Latest Bar Is McKlucky's
Nuala Sawyer
Published on March 22, 2014
Have you visited the new bar on Divisadero yet? The decor is fantastic, seems they serve up a good cocktail, but the clientele seems a bit ... stuffed. Welcome to McKlucky's Bar, the latest window installation at Madrone. 

Madrone Art Bar is known for its regular weekday nights of stellar music performed by locals groups, as well as their hopping line-around-the-block Friday and Saturday nights. But owner Michael Krouse has a deep appreciation for all forms of art. The interior of the bar has been described "as if it were interior-decorated by Jeff Koons and Banksy". And if you have a keen eye for photography, you may notice that immediately upon entering an original Walker Evans photo hangs on the wall. 



McKlucky's Bar is the brainchild of artists 
Bill Rupel and Diana Hartman. Bill's history is in set design and theater, which plays out obviously in the mid-motion mise en scene of McKlucky's. Diana is a mixed media artist. Combining their skills, they created a knitted rubber chicken named Carl. As Carl's popularity grew, he became the front-man (front-chicken?) of a band called This Is Embarrassing, with vocals and guitars done by Bill. Carl inspired a whole slew of other chickens, and eventually McKlucky's was born. 

And what a bar it is. The more time one spends examining it, the more details appear. There's even two video cameras pulling images from the street into black and white TVs behind the bar. There are polaroids of chickens, small bottles of real booze, and a chewed-up corn cob.

So next time you pass Madrone with the urge to get lost in a world of knitted rubber chickens, make sure you stop by McKlucky's for a drink.