You won't find Toby Keith at his new bar and grill in St. Louis Park -- not yet

Associated Press photo

Toby Keith wasn't there. He didn't make the under-advertised opening night of Toby Keith's I Love This Bar and Grill on Friday at the Shops at West End in St. Louis Park. Shane Wyatt was on the bandstand, and more than 600 revelers packed the oversized roadhouse where they serve draft beer in a Mason jar, display a Harley in the middle of the giant bar and play their music loud with no cover charge (so far; live music is planned for six nights a week). The crowd -- more ball caps than cowboy hats -- was having so much fun that Wyatt and his band stretched their opening set to a full two hours, playing some Merle, Johnny and Dwight along with the obligatory Jason Aldean, Keith Urban and a few originals. Without any test-run shows, Toby's still has to work out some kinks with the sound system. And there are plenty of challenges with a metal ceiling and lots of tin on the walls of this bar. These kinds of hard surfaces are a sound engineer's nightmare. The walls also have the requisite neon signs for Jack Daniels, Fat Tire and Miller Lite. There are enough TV screens to turn this into a sports bar for Vikings games. (On Friday, TVs broadcast either the live Twins game or country-music videos.) There are booths for eating all kinds of chicken-fried something or other, and a VIP room with bordello-evoking walls. In the middle of Toby's new place (he has several bars and grills around the country, including Vegas and Kansas City) is a giant odd-shaped bar with more bar stools than any two Twin Cities bars combined. (If you look over the bar, attached to the ceiling is a ginormous replica of Toby's stars-and-stripes guitar.) And befitting Toby's image, the waitresses dress like a honky tonk's answer to Hooters servers. Even though Toby Keith's name is all over the joint, don't expect the country superstar to perform at this honky tonk that holds about 750 people. He might do a meet-and-greet there. He's more likely to play a big show in town. Don't be surprised if it's the Aquatennial Block Party on July 16. His bar and grill is expected to have its official opening that week.