Phat Cat keeps the party going on Broadway

Cape Girardeau's "social scene" often looks the same each weekend. Young adults shuffling from one downtown bar to another — pubs, clubs, billiards bars or bistros, looking for a good time. But for a different flavor on a Friday night — try Broadway: That's where you'll find the Phat Cat.

In August 2001, when the Phat Cat fired up, it was billed as "a stylish club experience," which it still is. Owners Pat Buck and his wife Tamara Zellars Buck originally targeted a slightly older or postcollege crowd.

"We wanted to open a place that we would like to come to," Tamara Buck said.

In many cases, though, it is the patrons who determine a bar's identity. Gradually, a younger clientele began to filter in which, according to Tamara, was fine by her husband.

"The adjustment was a little hard for me," she said. "But Pat was ready to do whatever it would take."

KIT DOYLE ~ kdoyle@semissourian.comPatron and pineapple is one of the more popular drinks at The Phat Cat according to bartender Angela Mireles.

Clarence "Bubba" Matthews is a cousin of the Bucks and works as a bouncer. Originally from Paducah, Ky., he moved to Cape Girardeau when the Phat Cat opened.

"Earlier in the week, the kids [legal age Southeast Missouri State University students] run the place, literally," he said. "They work the bar, serve drinks, all of it. Just like any other bar, they shoot pool, dance ... they do what they do."

However, according to Bubba, unlike a lot of bars, this one polices itself. In the rare event that there is an altercation, it is the cool heads of the customers that defuse it — and then it's right back to the party.

DJ Vince Brown has been spinning beats since 1990. He moved to Cape Girardeau in May 2007 and said his goal is to try to create the "crunkest" possible atmosphere. In the parlance of partying, the term crunk is tossed about frequently. Brown's crunk is "older disco with a splash of gansta and some heavy influences from the Gulf South region down around Mississippi and Alabama. People like Soulja Boy and T.I."

He said one of the reasons the Phat Cat works is "It's a lot of regulars here." It's a testament to the club's atmosphere that there is such return business fueled in part by those from Sikeston, Mo., and Cairo, Ill. Patrons can chill at a table, on one of several couches or belly up to the bar where a PlayStation 2 is hooked-up, complete with wireless controllers.

The Phat Cat, 731 Broadway, is open from 9 p.m. to 1:30 a.m. Tuesday through Saturday.