Fool’s Gold Saloon in Downtown Rochester Pays Tribute to the Old Wild West

A view of the downstairs bar at Fool’s Gold Saloon, a relatively new “Old West” themed bar on East and Alexander in downtown Rochester, New York.

The 1993 film Tombstone, a western-style motion picture depicting embellished real-life events that occurred in Tombstone, Arizona, in October 1881, when a rogue U.S. Marshall, Wyatt Earp, wreaked vengeance on a group of outlaw cowboys for the murder of his brother, Morgan. The film features Val Kilmer playing Doc Holiday, a gunslinging southern aristocrat, and Kurt Russell as Wyatt Earp, a fierce vengeance-seeking lawman. It is a dynamic film, full of quotable scenes, and in part an inspiration behind the aesthetics of a new downtown Rochester bar, Fool’s Gold Saloon.

There are a lot of details that went into the decor of Fool’s Gold Saloon, a sign that says “The Mine”, and a prop dynamite-plunger that reads Du Pont. Don’t worry, it’s only a prop, and part of the bar’s western-theme, and not a danger in any way!

Formerly occupied by Masons on Alexander, Fool’s Gold Saloon has reimagined the space with a makeover from a classic haunt to a bar that pays tribute to the old Wild West. There are two bars at Fool’s Gold, one upstairs near the entrance and the second down below on the basement level. Some of the walls along the bar are painted with caricatures of miners who struck gold, or are about to battle it out in a duel; in many ways, it is reminiscent of the Knott’s Berry Farm theme park in Buena Park, California, an amusement park where I spent many years of my youth as a teenager riding roller coasters and eating funnel cakes.

A mural depicting old-timey caricatures knocking ‘em back in a gold mine on the basement wall at Fool’s Gold.

There is much to be seen on the walls of Fools’ Gold Saloon, including a mural depiction of a mining cave, and some fake Hollywood-type props that resemble an old-timey dynamite-plunger with a label reading, ‘Danger Explosives”.

There are also dive bar games, including darts and skee ball, which offer a fun and interactive night out. If you’re into sports and looking for a place to catch some upcoming games, the saloon has multiple television sets, but the space strikes a nice balance between dive bar and sports bar, so you can still enjoy the vibe even if you’re not a big sports fanatic.

Fools Gold Saloon offers a variety of games for entertainment, including Skee-Ball.

I’ll close with this: Fool’s Gold Saloon offers great happy hour specials and menu favorites, such as creamy mac and cheese, brisket, and other BBQ classics. Visiting the saloon is a worthwhile and immersive experience, especially for a casual hangout with good friends; as Doc Holiday would have put it, “you’re a daisy, if you do”.