Mitch’s Tavern is worth the trip down Bull Durham memory lane

I’m a big Bull Durham fan. I saw it for the first time in 2004, when I lived in West Village, the old Liggett & Meyers tobacco factory in downtown Durham. I squealed with delight during the opening scene when Susan Sarandon walked past one of the brick tobacco warehouses that would later become my home. She was on her way to the old Durham Athletic Park to watch the Durham Bulls.

One of the scenes takes place in Mitch’s Tavern on Hillsborough Street in Raleigh. It’s the scene where Kevin Costner and Tim Robbins fight over who’s going to dance with Sarandon. It leads to a challenge with a baseball in the back alley.

I’ve always wanted to go to Mitch’s and on Saturday I finally did. I decided to celebrate my birthday by embarking on a Hillsborough Street pub crawl. Mitch’s was the second stop, and I was pleased to see the tavern looked exactly as I remembered it from the flick. Small booths, dim lighting, wood interior and the famous glass window from the alley door hanging in the center of the bar.

Of course, I wish I had snapped a photo of my own to show off how cool this tavern is, but you don’t always think about things like this when you’re the birthday girl. But it’s worth venturing up the long, narrow stairwell to experience this place. This pic is by Flickr user rpbarlow.

Don’t forget, the Green Room in Durham also made an appearance in Bull Durham. This bar gets my recommendation, in part because it has a shuffle board table. The only other Durham bar that has one (to my knowledge) is Doyle’s. If you know of others, please tell me IMMEDIATELY because I love shuffleboard.

If you live in the Triangle and you have not seen “Bull Durham” please rent it immediately. Actually, forget renting it. Buy it. It’s truly incredible.

There’s also talk of a Bull Durham sequel being in the works. Supposedly Kevin Costner said he would appear in part two if the script is well done. Here’s hoping.