Kelly’s rides into the sunset

This weekend one of the region’s truest honky tonks, Kelly’s at Stateline, swings open its doors for the last time.

Owner Kelly Hughes is calling it quits to spend more time playing music and relaxing and enjoying life, but not without throwing a proper farewell party.

Or rather two of them.

Tonight at Kelly’s, 6152 Seltice Way, cowboy up and party down with the Kelly Hughes Band for $20, which includes all of the drinks of your choice. Same thing Saturday night, but the cover goes up to $30.

After this last country bash this weekend, what has been a bull-riding, two-stepping, keg-racing, hoops-for-beer slingin’, plunger-Olympian institution for two decades is closing for good.

But don’t retire your cowboy boots, hats, belt buckles and leather chaps just yet. There’s some new blood in town looking to fill the void left in Kelly’s absence.

Trick Shot Dixie Outlaw Saloon & BBQ opened two weeks ago at 321 W. Sprague, the former home of Banana Joe’s and Outback Jack’s before that.

Dixie is a Coyote Ugly-style cowboy and biker bar. That cleavage-baring flier that has been circulating around town exudes a misleading naughtiness.

The biker image might stir some uneasiness, but these aren’t rough and tumble Hell’s Angels we’re talking about. This is more like motorcycle enthusiasts – doctors and dentists with big-boy-toy hobbies.

Sure, it seems a job requirement that all the foxy female bartenders get up and dance on the bar at set intervals, but overall, Dixie is a softcore country bar that attracts a cross section of 20-somethings to middle-age nightbirds that are looking for an alternative to the dance clubs downtown that cater mostly to hip-hop music.

There are various themes throughout the week, including bike rallies organized by Roadhouse Shop in Post Falls on Friday nights.

Dixie retains some of Banana Joe’s ambience. It’s split with a main bar and dance floor, cornered by a hot tub for VIPs and mechanical bull-riding. Knocking out non-structural columns and moving the center bar against the wall expanded the dance floor to cap out at 600.

The secondary bar features a couple of house bands, “The Dixie Players” and “Black and White,” that play mixes of blues and classic rock and top 40 covers.

The music in the main room is heavy on the country, but not true country, more like the country-pop that’s veiled in radio-friendly formulaics along with jabs of ‘80s pop rock.

Switching to the countrified theme was provoked by the Big Easy Concert House’s reign over the night club scene, said Dixie general manager Sean Mooney.

“Big Easy is cornering the market on nightclubs, so we needed a change. This theme is missing in Spokane. We’re attracting an older crowd that has been asking for this for some time.”

J.P. Adams, 26, was with some friends checking out the place on Saturday night. He liked having an alternative to the crowded club nights at the Big Easy.

“There is plenty of meat, but it’s not as much of a market,” he said.

“Spokane is growing and people gotta get used to stuff like this. It’s all over in big cities,” said Pevro Vargas, who moved to Spokane from Mexico 10 years ago.

So what’s up with the tacky strip club-looking artwork on the fliers and menus?

Management said it was a last-minute detail that didn’t get proofed before printing, and they’ll be replaced with something a little more modest.

And that would be fitting of the scene at Dixie. This swank joint feels akin to Good Times in the Spokane Valley more than some greasy biker saloon.

More than anything, though, it shows the growing diversity of Spokane’s night scene.