The Way Station in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn is advertised as a “Music Venue & Nerdvana,” and it’s not hard to see why. Upon entering, visitors are immediately showered in murals and memorabilia from the long-running British science fiction show Dr. Who. The bar features the show’s iconic TARDIS (a blue police box capable of traveling through time and space) that is, as the show says, bigger on the inside—it houses the joint’s restrooms.
Opened in 2011 by Andy Heidel and Doc Wasabassco, The Way station was originally envisioned as a steam punk bar. Decorated in fanciful bronze mechanical contraptions of the Victorian industrial chic persuasion, the bar and music venue has changed slightly because, as Wasabassco says, “…we discovered something. Steampunk people don’t drink.”
Photograph by Gail Heidel, Courtesy of the Way Station
The two owners and friends quickly decided to embrace the Dr. Who aesthetic, and the bar now sports various murals and paintings of the immortal doctor’s various forms and small nods to various memes the show has spawned in its over 50 year runtime.
The Way Station embraces its identity as a Whovian fan’s dream come true, but appeals to sci-fi fans of all franchises. The cocktail menu sports Dr. Who cocktails like the “11th Doctor” and the “Sonic Screwdriver” but also the “Shirley Temple of Doom” and the “Christopher Walken Dead.”
Don’t think that The Way Station is just a place to drink. Down themed cocktails and get into a heated Kirk-Picard debate with the bartender. It also serves as a venue to all kinds of events: live music shows range from Celtic rock to jazz to R & B, while trivia nights and movie marathons happen nearly every week. Most surprising may be the burlesque show that is held every month or so, ran by Wasabassco himself.
While most people heading to The Way Station may be devout acolytes of the Doctor, the decor, drink menu and weekly events appeal to anyone looking for a good cocktail and a fun night indulging in their inner nerdiness. Just like bow-ties, the Way Station is cool.
The author can be reached via Twitter @jimipage26.
