Phoenix's The Duce Named Coolest Themed Bar in Arizona
Go Banking Rates recently released their list of the coolest themed bars and restaurants in each U.S. state. For Arizona, their pick was The Duce, located in Phoenix.
Looking at restaurants and bars that conveyed novelty to the highest degree, the site went looking for “colorfully themed restaurants and wild watering holes [that] offer up heaping helpings of quirkiness, alongside some truly creative meals and libations.” It’s no surprise the Prohibition-style bar caught their attention.
The Duce, on the corner of Lincoln Street and Central Avenue in Central City, is no stranger to attention. Modeled after Chicago’s Black Orchid Jazz Club, the bar was built in a 1928 district warehouse, making sure to maintain that historic charm. “Embracing all things retro,” the bar offers dishes inspired by the 1960s made in an outdoor 1968 streamline food camper named “Duchess.” In keeping with the theme they also have a 1915 Chicago drug store soda fountain. Along with eating they also offer plenty of space for kitschy fun, including a full gym with a boxing ring as well as bleachers you can sit on while you wait your turn at shuffleboard, foosball, and ping pong.
No wonder it was named one of the wackiest bars in the U.S. by CNN Travel. It also got namechecked by the Phoenix New Times for having some of the best margaritas in town. In keeping with the theme, their frosty drinks are made with a 1941 recipe.