Bars: New Cowboy Jack's on I-494 strip is the latest in a string of mega-saloons

Brett Stender entered the mechanical bullpen at Bloomington's new Cowboy Jack's around 10:10 p.m. on Saturday.

"I heard they go harder for the guys," said Stender, of south Minneapolis, who stands 6 feet 5.

Less than two minutes later, he was out of the ring. It only took a single hard turn to buck the towering bull rider -- who was admittedly several beers in -- from the crowded robotic centerpiece of the second Cowboy Jack's location, opened last month by Minneapolis' After Midnight Group.

It should have the country-tinged watering hole down to a science now, considering this isn't the restaurant and bar group's first rodeo. Cowboy Jack's is its fourth Western-themed club, following the original Jack's in Plymouth, plus Cowboy Slim's in Uptown Minneapolis and Cowboy's Saloon in Circle Pines.

It's also the largest. Taking over the 14,000-square-foot shell of an old Steak and Ale restaurant, the group relied on Minneapolis-based design collaborator Red Barn Creations, which constructed the Old West aesthetic for After Midnight's other polished mega-saloons -- a far cry from rustic watering holes like Lyn-Lake's perpetually dusty Country Bar & Grill.

From the shotgun door handles to the general-store hostess desk, the new club shares the same attention to sepia-tinged detail, but with a more open floor plan. The band audience blurs into the bar crowd, which blurs into the bustling dining area.

DeMarco sees the busy kitchen as a unique focal point of the new location, which offers a menu of meaty standards, from braised beef to pot pies. "We're selling ribeyes at 11 o'clock at night," he said. "The fact that we have a wait for dinner every night is a really good sign."

Still, the Saturday-night clientele -- most with a half-empty plastic cup in hand -- appeared to be there for the nightlife.

"It's not like the Poor Richards crowd or Oak City," said one middle-aged guest, Colleen Quade of Bloomington, referring to two other weekend hot spots on Bloomington's suburban strip. "It's older people, which I like because there aren't a bunch of drunk 20-year-olds."

While most patrons Saturday gravitated toward the bar tables, the blurred line between bar and restaurant at Cowboy Jack's seemed to muffle the nightlife intensity. It ultimately makes it a more dynamic weekend spot, with parties of people constantly navigating toward the location's various focal points. It is a blend that DeMarco and company are proud to have found.

"There's a lot of copycats, but they haven't been able to do it quite this way," he said.