The skinny:

Two ramshackle stalls, conveniently close to the front door.

Pros:

The existence of two stalls means you rarely have to wait long for a turn, which is a valuable asset in the bar scene. There’s a nice, long mirror to check your face in, and the sink isn’t inside the bathroom so that cuts down on the clutter. Toilet paper is almost always stocked. This bathroom doesn’t strike me as overwhelmingly clean, but there isn’t garbage all over the floor.

Cons:

Yet another restroom with no purse hooks. At any given time, one or both of the stall doors are unable to stay shut, so you have to maneuver some way to take care of business while keeping the door shut with your foot, or with your purse lodged purposefully in the door jamb. Lots of dramatic, specific, catty graffiti graces the walls and contributes to the general squalor. The problem with the sink being in the hallway is that you have to wash your hands under the only bright light in the whole bar, usually spraying other people with the overzealous faucet in the process. And I’d say about 67% of the time, there are no paper towels, so you get the pleasure of walking back to your booth with dripping hands.

Empire
727 W Broad Street
Richmond, VA 23220
(804) 344-3323‎

(Image courtesy of F33)

Tess Shebaylo is a freelance writer, crafter, history geek, and compulsive organizer. She works at Tumblr and lives in Church Hill with her husband, Dan, and their two cats.

3 Responses to “Empire: Uninspiring but not digusting”

1. 1. Phil says:

   i’ve never enjoyed the ladies room at empire, but the men’s room has a GOLDEN TOILET.

   A+

   on May 8th, 2009 at 4:21 pm

2. 2. Parker says:

   I’ve enjoyed the ladies room on many occasions…

   on May 8th, 2009 at 10:46 pm

3. 3. Casey says:

   i just love the fact it at least has a good mirror

   on May 11th, 2009 at 11:41 am