Gwar Aim to Open ‘Gwar Bar’ and Serve ‘Gourmet Junk Food’ in Richmond

Somewhere near the intersection of tastiness and tastelessness, the living cartoon characters of Gwar intend to open their very own “Gwar Bar.” The group, whose concerts incorporate copious amounts of fake bodily fluids, human meat grinders and, of course, hideous costumes, want Richmond, Virginia citizens to trust them to adhere to food-safety regulations so much, they have launched their own Indiegogo campaign to get the watering hole (splattering hole?) off the ground. The campaign promises the establishment will “change the dinning [sic] experience in much the same way that Gwar changed the concert-going experience (well, maybe, without quite as much mess).”

Rare Photos of Gwar’s Dave Brockie

At the time of this post, the campaign has raised a little over $6,000 of its $50,000 goal, an amount the group hopes to reach in the next three weeks. Incentives for donations include everything from a free entrée at the establishment (for $100) to a “cooking class with BalSac,” the group’s giant-jawed character (for $750). Two would-be funders so far have clamed personal seats at the bar for $1,000 each so they can “feel like Norm.”

The group acknowledged frontman Dave Brockie, who went by the name “Oderus Urungus” and died earlier this year, in their Indiegogo description, saying that his death has made them “more determined than ever” to get the establishment opened. Gwar wants the money to renovate the kitchen of a location they have found so they can serve “gourmet junk food” and a smokehouse to create their own “Gwar-B-Q.” They also want to open a beer garden.

Since Brockie’s death in March, the group has continued to keep the band going. In April, it launched the Dave Brockie Foundation to promote “music, images, letters and performances in the arts.” It will also hold its annual “Gwar-B-Q” event in August, “as Dave and Oderus would have wanted,” according to manager Jim Flanagan.