Getting feisty at the Goat

The first thing to know about the Feisty Goat Pub is that it's not easy to find.

Tucked into the corner of a strip mall on East Long Street just west of Plaza 50, the eclectic pub has garnered a following befitting its non-conformist style.

"There's a lot of stories about this bar out there," said Rob Rasner, who with partner Lucas Whitmore opened the Feisty Goat in July 2007. "I would say we aren't weird, but we are special."

The partners stripped everything out of the old space and built a warm, friendly environment fit for their vision of the kind of place they wanted, more than anti-sports bar.

"Not that there's not football on TV sometimes," Rasner said. "We just concentrate on creating a relaxed atmosphere. We are an art bar, a conversation bar, real good beers, real good alcohol, nice atmosphere, no fights, no crazy drama. We try to fill that niche. We're not out there promoting two-cent beers, 75 flat screens. We take a different approach."

The walls are decorated with colorful and intriguing works from local artists, which lets you know right away this isn't your ordinary dive bar.

"We have a lot of friends who are artists and we like to have a place where they can put their art and sell their art, and it really adds to the ambiance of the bar," Rasner said.

They have 10 beers on tap, and about 40 overall, the vast majority of them craft beers. And they have an appetizer menu for those wanting food to snack on.

But what they don't have is slot machines and cigarette smoke.

"We've tossed around ideas of expanding to another location where we could introduce that side of it, where it's more gaming or smoking, but we really like having a small bar," Rasner said. "We don't want to change what the Feisty Goat is."

Ranser supplied the logo for the bar, while Whitmore came up with the name, a symbol of winning battles with wits instead of brawn.

"We take that approach to a lot of things, and we're feisty guys, we're from around here, went to high school here, and we decided to open this pub off the beaten path," Rasner said. "You have to work to find us."

Their laid-back style extends to their opening and closing times. They usually open mid-afternoon, but that time can vary, just like closing times.

"Honestly, that's how we roll," Rasner said. "If it closes up early and everybody's done, then we close early. If people want to stay late and drink all night long, we'll stay open. It's a question a lot of people ask, and will probably keep asking."

But the bar does more than just be laid back. At least once a month, they host one of their much-talked-about theme parties. The after-Christmas Tiki Party was a big hit among the bar's clientele, and they are planning to maybe do an inauguration theme party later this month, and an anti-Valentine's Day Party in February.

"There's not a lot to do in Carson, and the parties give you something to do, be a little wacky and go out," Ranser said.

Jim Carter, an archeologist from Carson City, said the pub is a stopping point between home and work.

"This is a great little hole-in-the-wall place," Carter said. "No slot machines, no smoking, great beers, great people. A real friendly little place."

And it's the clientele that helps make the place what Rasner and Whitmore hoped it would be.

"We have a real dedicated base of customers who like what we have, and we like it just the way it is," Rasner said.

- Contact reporter Kirk Caraway at kcaraway@nevadaappeal.com or 775-881-1261.