The Obituary of GLOU
Remembering a Life
It is with a heavy heart that I announce the passing of a beloved treasure of the Providence community. Taken before her time, on Saturday 28th, Glou cocktail bar sadly passed away. The night was cold. The owner Emory is moving to New York. And the candle-lit gem on Ives is no longer with us.
The news has sent the Brown and RISD student bodies reeling.
Since Glou’s passing, their Instagram stories have been featuring traumatic footage of the selling of this bar for parts. If you feel a burning desire for a fridge or table&chair set from the deceased, their garage sale is going on until this Thursday. (March 5th.)
In Glou’s final hours, a few of the bar’s fondest admirers came together to mourn and drink its delicacies one last time.
The Looking Glass would like to share some of the kind words said during this glou-neral:
Glou, oh Glou
How we will miss you
No bar will ever dazzle like you do
(did.)
“Glou was the glue that brought us all together. Without Glou, there’s no bonds.” – W. Williamson
“Glou is somewhere special for us. It’s where a lot of relationships with our friends started and a lot of sparks ignited in our lives at Brown.” – A. Baumer
“BAR. Beautiful. Atmospheric. Ravenous.” He takes a deep breath. “One place. One community. One soul. I loved Glou. Remind your friends to support your local businesses and go out to the bar instead of drinking at home.” – E. Horwitch
“This was like the first bar we went to. It was our first Providence bar.” – J. White (spoken with his head hung low in nostalgic longing.)
“Glou’s really been through all the different phases of our friend’s experience. Sitting outside in the summer here with a big group was so perfect. It’s really just a place of connection.” – A. Moses
“Glou to me is a feeling. It’s butterflies before the main function. It’s secret whispers with the girls. It’s being slightly scared of knocking over everything in this damn room. It’s also being young and free. I love you Glou.” – R. Yanowitch (* proceeds to start singing Let Her Go by Passenger.”)
“Legends drink at Glou. Heroes. Oh my god, and the olives here are so yummy. I’ll miss them so much. I had the best dirty martini of my life here just a mere two weeks ago,” She stops to reminisce, “and the chocolate chip cookie was so good.” – C. Kanders
“Glou is the epitome of union. Even though they have kicked us out before.” – G. Paraskeva
“I’m so devastated. I’ve just found out about this terrible news. I live on this side of town, and it’s been really nice to have such a sweet place that can be both very gentle and quiet and fun and busy.” – Alexa no. 2, a RISD grad student
“This is our bar.” Looks despondently at Alexa 2. “ We come here very regularly to bond and catch up, so I don’t know what will replace it now.” – Tori, who works at the RISD museum
Glou can never be replaced.
“So many great conversations in this place. It’s the girly fun bar that brings people together in the candlelight. And there was this one bartender who had all these tattoos of Barbara Streisand…” – G. Belgrader
Many of the mourning community took time to mention the wide variety of dates – good and bad — that this historic site provided.
Out of the 11 dates reported, 2 culminated in relationships.
1 relationship is still standing.
(This editor herself was in fact, kicked out of Glou on a date…. we did not see each other again.)
“I think it’s pretty tragic that we’re losing Glou. Because every single one of my 7 roommates has gone on a date at Glou. It’s a shared experience.” – L. Byrd
“Except all the dates usually go… poorly, so Glou isn’t about finding your man. It’s about the nights you spend with your friends.” – M. Dominguez.
“I can bear witness to the end of the infamous first dates at Glou.” J. Puig
Alas, as well as maybe one relationship, Glou leaves behind a strong legacy of chatting and union over delectable colorful cocktails and recently a quite creative food menu.
On this sad day, let us take a moment to acknowledge the suffering of all who held the bar closely in their hearts and pray that Emory may resurrects the Pink Flamingo cocktail on his ventures in New York…
We will hold Glou forever in our hearts — a life well lived.