Did you see the painting in the bathroom?
A Van Down By The River
If you have ever had the privilege of using our men’s restroom, then you have seen the painting. Somehow this painting has never won us a Nappie for best bathrooms, but maybe it should! We get asked all the time: Where did you find that? Just like many lovers of comedy, Brian is a huge Chris Farley fan. From the Chippendales skit on SNL to Wayne’s World (I got no place else to go) to Tommy Boy, Farley is a legend. One night, scrolling Instagram before bed, a painting of Matt Foley sitting with his van down by the river popped up. Without much hesitation, the “buy now” button was clicked, and the painting was on the way. We've made plenty of late-night impulse buys over the years, most of them duds. Not this one.
The crazy thing is, this exact version of this painting has never shown up again. We have even searched for it online with no luck. Someone was looking out for us that night and placed this beautiful piece of art on Instagram at just the right time. Once it arrived, we knew it had to be properly framed and hung in the men’s bathroom.
What you may not know is that this glorious painting has been stolen and returned twice. Both times during private events. The first time, we merely hung the painting on the wall, as we did not envision that its beauty would drive someone to take it for themselves, Gollum-style. It was returned a day or two later by the guilty party. When we hung it back up, we bolted the frame into the wall in hopes that it would always remain there. Well, fast-forward a year or two, and it was pried off the wall and somehow sneaked past our bartending crew during a crowded night of a private event. Fortunately, we had the contact info of the host, who was greatly embarrassed that this theft had occurred. Within 5 days, the painting was returned to the taproom. This time we upped our game on safekeeping and got screws that might rip the entire wall out if someone attempted to take our precious. The only way this piece of art is being removed now is if Ethan Hunt drops down from the ceiling and evades all the security lasers.
So next time you stop by the taproom and pay your respects to Chris Farley, you now know a little more about how this painting ended up in our bathroom and the allure it has had over the years. He was Matt Foley, 35 years old, thrice divorced, and he lived in a VAN DOWN BY THE RIVER.