No books at this library

Julian Wright wants people to know his new Downtown bar isn't Hooters or Coyote Ugly.

The Library, a bar and grill replacing Brewster's Pub, has an all-female wait staff like Hooters. And like Coyote Ugly, servers dance on the bar.

But that is where the similarities end, Wright said.

"We are much more multi-dimensional then Coyote Ugly," he said.

At The Library, Wright said, the food is great, happy hour is cheap, and the atmosphere is controlled.

The first Library opened in Tempe, Ariz., in 2002. Cocktail servers and bartenders wear schoolgirl outfits and perform choreographed routines on the bars in between serving. Customers can also dance on the bars. In fact, they are encouraged to, Wright said.

He said because the all-female wait staff is scantily clad, The Library is often confused for Hooters. The difference, he said, is his bar encourages female customers.

"We actually really just want to appeal to women," he said. "We don't want girls to feel put off or intimidated by the all-female staff."

He said he'd rather create an atmosphere where customers feel empowered that the place is run by women.

Wright said the concept for The Library came in 2002. He owned two bars in Arizona but didn't like the crowd.

"The bars were very trendy," he said. "It was more of a fast-lane crowd. I wanted more of a college bar instead of a techno or hip-hop club where everyone is high on drugs the whole time."

He said he sold one of his bars, worked out an ideal business plan and raised much of the money for The Library privately.

Since then, the Tempe location has been featured on "Wild on E" and was a runner up for best bar concept of the year. The lines go out the door every Friday and Saturday night, Wright said.

He said Albuquerque is a great location for a second Library.

So far, he said he is thrilled with the reaction.

"It seems like everyone in town is anxiously waiting for the opening," he said.

UNM student Crystal Romero was hired as a bartender for the Library.

"I was a little skeptical about dancing on the bar at first, but I think it's pretty easy," she said.

She said her biggest worry is falling off the wet bars.

Janelle Romero, who studies nutrition at UNM, is a cocktail waitress at the bar and visited The Library in Tempe.

"It's a cool place to be," she said. "It's a wild party, and it's very packed."

She said she was kind of uncomfortable with the uniforms at first.

"They are pretty revealing," she said. "But they can be modified. You can change them to the length that feels comfortable."

Neither of them are too worried about sleazy men, because there is a strict dress code and a no-touching policy.

"We are extremely protective of the girls that work here," Wright said. "We have a very strict sexual harassment policy."

He said aside from those who complain his bar is degrading, he mostly gets good responses.

"I get e-mails from people all around the country telling me it's the best bar they've ever been to, which always blows me away," he said.

COMING ATTRACTION

The Library Bar and Grill

312 Central Ave.

$5 on Fridays and Saturdays