Peter Shokeir | [email protected]
It鈥檚 a unique name for a unique business.
Local entrepreneur Kim Stark has established with the goal of introducing people into the world of scotch.
As the owner of Bear鈥檚 Paw Bakery, the Other Paw Bakery Caf茅 and Lil鈥� Bear at Whistlers Campground, Stark has mostly specialized in baked goods and hot drinks.
Stark assures, however, that her passion for scotch goes back a long time.
She was first introduced to this drink years ago when Embers Steakhouse had hosted a scotch and cigar night.
鈥淚 went to it and I liked it. I wasn鈥檛 so keen on the cigar part, but the scotch I liked, and whenever I would be somewhere different, I would try scotch, or if I was coming back through duty free, I would pick up scotch because it was more reasonable.鈥�
Ursidae Lair is open Thursday through Sunday from 7 p.m. to 1 a.m. at 4 Pyramid Lake Road, the same location as Bear鈥檚 Paw Bakery during the day.
Stark said part of the motivation for opening the lounge was to make use of this location during the evenings.
鈥淐OVID has definitely made most small business owners have to think outside of the box as we bounce back from that, and I like scotch, so why not open a scotch tasting lounge?鈥� Stark asked.
This idea of a lounge was a big driver behind renovating the Bears鈥� Paw Bakery.
鈥淲e鈥檙e much more streamlined behind the scenes in the frontend now, and it鈥檚 a nicer place to come and sit down,鈥� Stark said.
Stark originally considered calling the lounge 鈥淏ear鈥檚 Lair,鈥� but it was too close to Candy Bears鈥� Lair, so she kept thinking about it until her mind went to the stars.
Considering nighttime, she thought about ursa major and ursa minor, the 鈥淕reat Bear鈥� and 鈥淟esser Bear鈥� constellations, and how 鈥渦rsa鈥� means 鈥渂ear鈥� in Latin.
鈥淯rsidae鈥� refers to 鈥渁 family of large powerful plantigrade carnivores or omnivores with long shaggy coats and strong claws, often dwelling in dens or lairs, i.e., Bears.鈥�
鈥淪o, I still got to keep my name, but it鈥檚 just not as connected to other names in town, and on the side of that, I thought, well, most scotch names you can鈥檛 pronounce anyway, so you probably shouldn鈥檛 be able to pronounce the name of the bar either,鈥� Stark joked.
Ursidae Lair offers not just scotch but also a variety of scotch cocktails that help serve as a gateway into the scotch world for the uninitiated.
The lounge also offers light fare in terms of food and sells cigars meant to be smoked elsewhere.
Stark emphasized that the lounge was meant to be laid back and easy with jazz playing in the background, and ultimately a non-pretentious experience meant to bring in anyone over 18 years old 鈥� veteran scotch drinkers and new adults alike.
