Jeff’s Bucket Shop

Beyond disappointed with this so called club. Out with friends who are members and made to wait in a ridiculous line and treated with no respect or common curtesy. We live in Charlotte, not New York or LA. We have been to numerous clubs in a multitude of cities and have never been asked to wait in a secondary line as the rest of our party goes into the subterranean club. We will not return and recommend that no one else decides to waste a weekend night on this pointless «club».

The DJ is the biggest douche on the planet! Skipping your songs after you have tipped him. Your job is to play the songs requested. Guy needs to be replaced. He’s detrimental to the business, and makes customers not want to come back.

I give a solid 3 stars
Awesome beer pong table on the outside patio and there is also giant jenga.
I don’t really like the karaōke because it’s a lot of loud in a tiny room.
So, really where I hang out is the back patio… after a few games we usually just head on to the next bar.

I haven’t been back terribly recently, but I did go several more times since my last review and the old DJ was no longer working there. The newer DJs did an excellent job and that was my only major gripe with the place. Definitely worth checking out for a great time as long as you don’t have personal space issues because it gets packed Friday and Saturday nights. But that’s cool, it makes it feel like you’re performing to a sold-​out crowd when you do karaōke.

I am giving Jeff’s a ONE-​TIME 2 star rating based on my time there last night. We have been here many times and have always had a great time doing karaōke; however, last night, I was very disappointed. First of all, the smell upon entering was very overwhelming and NOT in a good way. Jeff’s should come up with some kind of ventilation system so you are not hit with awful smell. Looks like they have some new employees since the last time we were there. The DJ guy was not very good. Not sure if he didn’t know how to regulate microphones or what, because it sometimes didn’t seem to be turned on while singing for some, including myself. Missed the guy with the glasses and ponytail that usually DJs. He’s the best! The bar staff are friendly and welcoming. I love the feel of this dive bar and know we will be going there again, but hopefully, it will be better next time.

Cousin and I visited this spot after searching for karaōke in Charlotte. Definitely was not what we expected, however, the bar staff were friendly and welcoming. Karaōke set up was sub par. There was no book available to scroll through to help one choose a song. The three stars go to our Tenders, but I doubt if we would return.

Very cool little «speak easy dive bar» right on Montford drive. I still have NO idea how we all got in since you have to be a «member» or something like that! Maybe that’s all a ruse…
Nevertheless, we came in for our (mine and Paul N’s) birthdays and wanted to do some dancing after our awesome meal at Good Food on Montford.
Well we found on this is KIND OF a karaōke bar, with people KIND OF signing the songs on the sound system. Hey it didn’t matter, we all had a blast!
I think I only had one drink, but someone bought it for my birthday so I have no idea what the drink prices are… I can only tell you that I had a really good time and we danced our butts off!
I definitely want to come back here… that is, IF I can figure out the secret handshake to get back in… :-)

Walked in and immediately was blasted with the sent of urine. Was giving a pint of beer and drank ¾ before I nearly cut my lip and realized my glass was cracked. I showed the bartender and he told me he had to charge me for a new pint regardless. Karaōke was fun but their equipment is out of date. Not a terrible experience but the whole pint thing killed it for me.

So this bar is in the bottom of a building and if folks could go back in a time machine… lets say 1970s, this would be a VERY common type of bar in North Carolina… hey its the south… we don’t care about what it looks like… we care about what it feels like… and Jeff’s feels like a cool little bar with nice folks behind the counter in a place that looks like you went a little bit back in time.
If you want something more… you need to go somewhere else.
I tend to find Jeff’s the type of bar you use to «test» your date to see if they are cool enough… if they get all bent out of shape having a beer here… toss them to the curb… for the infraction of being high maintenance. *grin*

You usually can’t go wrong with a place that has Birdsong on draft. This is definitely your stereotypical hole-​in-​the-​wall dive bar but that is absolutely what makes it awesome. I visited this place for a fund raising karaōke event and had a blast. The drinks are a good price and there was a good group of 21 — 35 year olds belting out their favorite 80s tunes with a beer in the other hand. The staff there is super friendly and the entire atmosphere makes you feel like your in your best friend’s basement for a house party.

The List at karaōke is a lie Neo. You either pay to sing or wait for «the 3 people ahead of you». The good news is they have a liquor license and no detectable smell last night. To become a member is easy, fill out a form & pay a $ 1. As you wind down the corridor to the main room note the free popcorn machine. Yes, the place is tiny. Shockingly so.
The front man at the door and bartending staff are polite and perfunctory so don’t expect a lot of chit chat. They’ll get your mixed drink or beer (choices are $ 4 drafts or bottles) just fine and move on to the next thirsty patron.
So the bar is really, really small. You’ll easily be able to see & hear who’s singing or judge the line at the bar. If you want to sign up to sing, you need only shuffle, squish and slip through the crowd to get to the books to pick your song. If you only want to be entertained by the likes of a death metal interpretation of Miley Cyrus’s «Wrecking Ball» you’ll be all set.
The bad news is if you want to sing. I get it the karaōke hostess works for tips. But 4 different individuals up on stage 4 times each, and seeing the same off key dude 6 times in 2 hours? Total bullshit. Tip for service after you sing, not tip just to even get service. When the rest of the audience groans with the lack of participant rotation I’m not out of place to knock off stars. Don’t bother looking at the list on the hostess desk, because she’s going in no discernible order, neither in the order signed up or juggling people by what they want to sing to keep the mood right. Nor in 45 minutes should one be told «there’s 3 people ahead of you» multiple times.
Fine place to drink or watch, terrible place to sing.

I really like Karaōke, and there is just something about this dive bar that I like.
Sure you’re crammed in there like a sardine, and drunk and sober people may brush past and touch you a little, so if you don’t want anyone in your bubble, don’t go.
But if you want to belt «My Heart Will Go On» or «I will Survive» until «Closing Time» well then this is your place!
Hopefully you end up singing because we all know you «Can’t fight this feeling any longer,» so don’t be afraid to let it show. Most times everyone else is singing with you and can’t hear you anyway in their drunken bliss.
So grab some adventurous friends, and get ready to «rock and roll all night!»

This may be my favorite bar on Montford. The absolute epitome of a dive.
Yes, it has an odd smell. Yes, it’s not fancy at all. Yes, you should probably have a few (and by a few I mean a lot of) drinks in you before you head down the stairs here. Yes, you will have a damn good time.
I’ve been here with several different crews of friends. From the «we all want to sing karaōke peeps» to the «we just want to people watch» variety. No complaints… always a lot of fun.
The weekends are packed. Wait time to get on stage and pretend you’re on Star Search can be up to an hour. You must either be a member or know a member to get in… not sure what the membership process is. I have a friend who is a member.
If I’m out boozing in Montford, Jeff’s is a definite stop. Don’t ever change JBS. You’re a breath of fresh air in the land of frat-​tastic-​ness.

This place was awesome back in the day. One of the best small music venues in town. Its still cool, but it smells like poo.
I’ve only been here once in about 5 years and I had a great time. Local rockstars that were known as The Ideal Way did a reunion show that was great. There really weren’t any great beer specials for a place that seems to be going for the dive bar theme and the stench of sewage is awful. Ironically, they have a popcorn machine in there that does a pretty good job of covering up the smell, they just don’t use it that often.
I really don’t know what else to say, if there is good music I’ll go back, but never am I going to say lets go grab a beer in the basement spot that smells like poo when Duckworth’s is a block away.

*WARNING* Only come here after 5 – 7 adult drinks… entering this establishment sober is not advised! What a weird place! After walking down a flight of stairs to some shady looking hallway where i had to sign my name, I was already READY TO GO! However, my friends wanted to stay because of the Karaōke. This place had a weird smell with equally weird patrons as well. Perhaps if I was drunk this place would have been awesome since the DJ was letting any and everyone on the mic but alas… I was not. I will never go to this place again! Jeff’s Bucket Shop is appropriately named as everyone that was there when i went was just about to «kick the bucket»
If I had 5 hands, I’d give this place 5 thumbs down!!!

This is literally a whole in the wall of a bar. Small and usually packed after midnight. It’s the place were the drunks stumble to from all the other bars on Montford in order to sing Karaōke.
They have gotten their liquor license back but the smell of stagnant water & beer is still there. they even serve food though I have never been bold enough to try it.
If you have never been, it is definitely an experience you must try, at least once. If you are young and out to party, this should be a stop on the Montford crawl.

Despite the urine-​smelled walk downstairs, as the stars state, I’m a fan. Wednesday night and I sang «As Long As You Love Me» with birthday girl’s sister.
The beers were cheap and not people singing much bc only a few regulars on that night. I’ll definitely come back when I need to belt a few Backstreet Boys songs. Heh. Only bummer is they didn’t have the song from Aladdin, «I Can Show You The World».
Yeah, I have off-​kilter music taste, oh well.
dmo out

Holy shit I love this place. Please keep in mind that I have only ever been here after several adult beverages. This place smells like urine, the karaōke is outdated, and its FREAKING awesome.
It’s definitely a nice change to the other frat-​tastic bars on Monford. I only suggest going here if you have no expectations, plan on drinking quite a bit, and want to have a good time.
Cheers to the bucket shop! The only basement in NC.

This is a hole in the ground kinda place… you heard me, I said ground not wall, considering you literally walk down a narrow stairwell to get to the little door in order to discover this little establishment. By the way, I do mean LITTLE, I’ve seen someone’s bathroom bigger than this joint.
Let’s be real peeps… this place is put in the «Dive Bar» category for a reason. Besides, the place is called «Jeff’s Bucket Shop,» I seriously for the longest time don’t even know of its existance… or what the heck Jeff is selling by the bucket, or if Jeff is trying to sell buckets, or who the heck is Jeff?! So yes, there maybe a little weird smell (frankly I don’t even pay attention to it, and I have a super good nose, but I do have high tolerance for «weird smell» courtesy of my heritage lol). My personal suggestion is stop asking what the heck that smell is (because you probably don’t want to know) and just keep drinking.
I have been here mostly on Fridays and they have karaōke. I think they have karaōke on other nights too. Not sure if they always have the same host, and if he is the regular, let me warn you, he doesn’t play… he will gong you off that stage like you’re on Apollo if you are seriously tone-​deaf.
This place gets packed. So if you have issues with being too crowded, well… not sure if you want to sardine your way into here on a weekend night. And again, if you are the high-​er maintanence type, you may want to stick with your «safer» choices and go next door or across the street or uptown. But honestly, it’s always a good crowd, nice people having fun together, beer isn’t too expensive, and I always have a blast here.

Not so sober review #339
Dear Diary,
I started drinking today in the most civilized way, bubbly with a girlfriend out of fancy, thrift store, vintage, bird bath champange glasses, oh la la la. Then went to a holiday bubbly tasting, snacks at Good Food on Montford, then all hell breaks loose.
We are walking by Jeff’s Bucket Shop, my friend says, «what’s Jeff’s Bucket Shop?» Well. I don’t know, I could tell you exactly where it is, but have I been there? No. So, I was like, let’s go find out.
You walk down a narrow hallway with a HUGE neon lit arrow pointing to the door, OMG, you had me at HELLO! We walk into a teeny tiny bar, with the bartender and a few patrons. Everyone is low key, but friendly. The bartender is super, super nice. Oh Jeez, it’s loaded with boys and there are some cute ones. Oh my. Yummy, little Debbie snack cakes and drink specials, nice barkeep and kaorake at 10p. Sweet Jesus, give me the mike. but no, not even loaded with alcohol, I’m still too shy.
I might say, now don’t quote me tomorrow, but right now, I love you Jeff.