I learned two things talking to Ryan O'Shaughnessy and Simone Morris-Martin, the playful hosts of Bend's newest trivia night at The Lot off Galveston in Bend. Number one, Dustin Diamond, (familiarly known as Screech from "Saved By the Bell") hosted the Gathering of the Juggalos in 2011, and number two, Jubelale was Deschutes Brewery's first seasonal beer.
"Oregon trivia, Bend trivia, beer trivia," listed Morris-Martin, explaining the categories one might see at the three-week-old trivia night. Morris-Martin works at Baked, the bakery next door to The Lot. "We like to do weird stuff too, like Cults and The Muppets."
The pair, who write all of their own unique questions—six each for six different categories—said that last week the heated seats were packed, with folks gathered around the gas fire places with brews and diverse meals from the five surrounding food carts. The Lot has become a toasty neighborhood gathering space, conveniently located off Galveston in the residential Westside, boasting $4 pints from 16-tap handles.
"It's such a weird ecosystem," said O'Shaughnessy who works most nights at the Brown Owl food cart. "If one cart is closed, the others are busy. Financially, we all have a relationship and we were trying to think of things that would make people come down here in the winter."
Bend's bar scene is seriously lacking in trivia, with only one other popular quiz night at Astro Lounge, which also happens to fall on Tuesdays. Sunday night trivia night at Good Life Brewery shut down in 2012. The Lot also has started hosting live music on Thursday nights in an effort to draw crowds to the local-centric food pod.
"As a group, we're shooting for that living room feel," said O'shaughnessy. "That's the Westside of Bend, and that's that neighborhood."
Trivia at The Lot
Tuesday, 6 pm.
745 NW Columbia St.
