Jackson’s On 3rd

Not like it use to be, but later found out they have a new owner and I sat down and talked with him. He’s a good guy and we may network together in the future.

Stopped in for a beer after the game last night, the place looked run down and very blah. There was maybe a handful of people sitting at the bar and the bartender walked by us probably 4 times without saying anything. Served the guests next to us and still didn’t greet my group.
He made a comment about the Phillies hat I was wearing and walked past (he had a braves hat on). We got up and left after about 10 mins went by. The «New» Jacksons on 3^rd is worse than the old Jacksons, no wonder it closed. Cant see it staying open too long.

This place should just shut down. Went for drinks before the TOOL concert and they had 4 people working… REALLY? Waiting for 10 minutes at the bar, gave up and went inside, waited for another 15, nothing… They didn’t even have tub girls set up… Bad planning. We went down the street to cooperstown and although they were slammed, they had servers and we were able to get beverages before the show, I would never go back to jackson’s again.

It’s amazing to me that a bar of this size, next to all of the major venues in downtown Phoenix wouldn’t try a little harder to service customers. After attending the Roadrunner’s game on Saturday night a group of us went for drinks and to meet the players. After a while, we took a walk down the street to see what was happening at Cooper’s, nothing, so we decided to go back into Jackson’s. My boyfriend was abruptly stopped by the bouncer who wouldn’t let him due to his attire (Hmmm, a hockey jersey is inappropriate attire for an apparent sports bar after a game, wtf???) so he asks to speak to the manager, the bouncer said he was the guy in charge and still wouldn’t let us in. Well the bouncer became very rude and aggressive after being POLITELY asked 3 times to speak to the manager then he pulled out pepper spray and threatened him! Are you kidding me!!! We were just in there 5 minutes ago, coming back to spend more money and this is what goes on? I’m pretty sure someone got this on their camera phone and it doesn’t end here.
I will NEVER go back in there again and will make sure ALL of my friends don’t go either. What a joke.
Oh yeah, and the bar tender tried to double charge us for food. Nice service. My advice, go anywhere for pre-​post game drinks but here.

You would think that a place that has been open, in this location as long as they have might have a few things figured out. Hey Management, here’s a few pointers for you:
When there are events downtown, people WILL show up. Stop looking so shocked. We are actually there because the wait everywhere else is too long, and we were forced to look to you by default. Restaurant staffing is variable, meaning you are allowed to schedule adequate staff for an event night.
We rolled in, took a look around, checked out the menu and rolled out. Then we found out the wait at Cooperstown, which was wall to wall with people, was an hour. So we rolled back to Jacksons. The wait for food, when the place was at only ¹⁄₃ of their capacity was an hour. For food. For bar food. They have 8 items on the menu, most of which are fried. Has it ever occurred to their staff to, umm, I unno, PREPARE? We found an outside seat, and I meandered up to the outside bar. 15 minutes later, I finally got served. I kept my mouth shut, because I watched one of the bartenders berate a woman for complaining about the wait. Granted, she was a bitch, but a bitch with a valid point. They were only serving the people at the ends of the bar, completely ignoring the 30 or so SITTING in the middle.
$ 12 for 2 vodka Red Bulls, a fair price. After learning about the wait, we decided to forgo food, but there was another 15 minute wait when I went back to the cash only outside bar. So much for them remembering decent tippers.
The seating arrangement outside seems weird, awkward and unbalanced, and it only gets worse when you head inside. I hear they have «servers» but since I only saw one looking harried inside, that could be more of an urban legend than fact. They could easily add more tables inside and rearrange the outside to seat more people comfortably, but given that they can’t handle a preconcert crowd, they shouldn’t unless they hire some experienced, friendly staff.
I won’t be going back anytime soon.

For a sports bar located blocks from Chase Field and US Airways Arena, I don’t know how they get away with having so much non-​Phoenix sports memorabilia on the walls. Only in this city!
i was in here *after* a DBacks game and it was practically empty. They have a decent enough draught selection. But the place itself is kind of skeevey. The bathroom was gross and there’s a window at eye level across the wall with the urinals so you can look out into the bar (maybe to keep your eye on the game?). But it means other people can look in. Strange.
They were showing the ASU game at the time and the TV I was seated in front of had a terrible fisheyed picture, it almost made me nauseous.
Feh.

Although I’ve never had a bad experience here or felt like I was walking into a rooting-​interest goocher (I’m something like 5 – 0 here as a spectator), I cannot really recommend this as a destination spot for game watching. I really have a problem with the dynamics of the TV arrangements, and although they all appear to be plasma (not LCD), someone here lacks the capability or willingness to change a number of their broadcasts to HD until well into ‘the game’ or never at all.
The table positioning is awkward at best. They force you into a 45 degree angle, where, if you have 4 – 5 people in the group, 3 are forced at painful angles for sustained TV viewing. And before Dbacks games, this place looks like the Texas polygamist ranch, with all the kids and their daddies in here. Its too much.
Their semi-​shaded patio and brick-​warehouse structure is gorgeous tho. If you can snag a spot out front, the atmosphere feels pretty enthusiastic and wholly uplifting, truth be told. Almost like a real sports/​entertainment district.
Food is awful, but really who cares? You’re here for the beer and they have that. It just might not be the place you’d wanna be unless you fancy a quick round or two before a Dbacks or Suns game.

not a bad place for a pint before a game… but it can get packed!!! i also found out that they don’t have a food menu… you get your food from a different part of the bar and bring it back to your seat…
the large outside area is awesome because it is so big…

When going here before a Diamondback game, don’t expect fast service. Sure, they are trying to do all they can, but dang — there are a LOT of you! Suns games are pretty bad too, though when comparing sold out games, there are just more Diamondback folks trying to get in. The nice thing is, Suns fans want to get out of there and head over before tip off. Most Baseball fans will head over where whenever they’re done because they know they have a good 8 hours to go.
Ok, lots of sports detail I know. But w/​Jackson’s on 3^rd, it’s all about Sports. If you’re thinking of heading over, check the sports schedules in the area before you make any firm plans.
Besides that — huge bar. When it’s empty (a non-​game day) it seems even bigger. But that can work great if you want to meet a crowd there for a non-​sports event. The dance club space has been a bit more hit and miss over the years. It went from lame to cool to not so hot to, well maybe if we’re in the area anyhow… Who knows where it will be when you go, but it’s a decent sized space, a big bar and a good amount of seating so you’ll definitely get your drink on, even if you don’t get your groove on.