I decided to be a critic today and write my own review on The Beehive. The Beehive is a restaurant/bar/venue in the South End of Boston. Every time I walk away from The Beehive at the end of a night, I am stung with a whirlwind of thoughts and ideas about how the Beehive has an enormous amount of wasted potential. Although the Beehive décor may be tastefully Victorian-Greenwich Village, with ornate chandeliers dangling from exposed piping and an amber-lit warm ambiance, something has to be said for where the Beehive comes up short. The idea is there—a cave-like hole in the wall “hive” where free minded musical individuals can nestle underground to not only listen to live talent, but also where they can go to indulge in creatively delicious food and perfectly proportioned cocktails. Unfortunately, The Beehive layout is its own Achilles heel when assessing the fun-ness factor in this buzzing music saloon. The stage for performances is completely surrounded by dining tables; patrons can order a glass of wine, relax, and watch the musicians from an arm’s length away. But what about those of us who come to the bar hoping to stand, talk, drink, listen to music, and maybe see the band? Strung out type-A bouncers sequester us into corners, shuffle us towards the bar, and discourage us from standing anywhere conducive to seeing the stage. The only area for dancing happens to be underneath the staircase, roped off, and directly in front of the kitchen door where fluorescent light filters in and wait staff continually oscillates. This layout leaves anyone without a table feeling musically stifled and utterly tired of being nagged and those with tables feeling trapped in their seated positions if they want to continue to witness the performance. In my opinion, it would serve The Beehive well to forgo either section of seating to be replaced by standing area, namely the area closest to the bar. By getting rid of the dining area closest to the bar, patrons could ease-up, watch the music, and maybe even dance to encourage a livelier atmosphere. As is, The Beehive makes me wonder why they even advertise the live bands to people who do not plan to eat because seeing and/or enjoying the music from any standing area available is next to impossible. Moral of the story: if you ever decide you want to own a venue, go to The Beehive and look at the setup—that is how you should NOT design a layout.
