Lariat fans have been showing up for the bar since 2019 by contributing to the bar’s Kickstarter campaign and keeping the momentum going for the last two and a half years as COVID-19-induced setbacks piled up. It was just overwhelming and fun.” There’s no telling who might end up in the bar’s mini wrestling ring. “We had a line out the door pretty much the entire night. “A lot of people ended up showing up, like a lot,” said co-owner Jorge Perez about Saturday’s opening. The Saturday opening crowd was larger than expected, a good indicator that Lariat is a great fit in White Center’s growing scene of theme bars, like the horror-themed 2 Fingers Social and upcoming carnivalesque Unicorn. Lariat originally opened the evening of Saturday, November 13, but some family matters and minor building issues led to an unintended four-day closure. Wrestling legend Andre the Giant lends his larger-than-life presence to Lariat Bar. There are pinball machines, and naturally, a mini wrestling ring. A haven for all things wrestling - especially for 1980s and 1990s wrestling culture - Lariat is decked out in memorabilia, with images of Randy “Macho Man” Savage, Andre the Giant (whose life-sized decal takes up the better part of a wall behind the bar), and more. More than two years in the making, including some recent delays, White Center’s newest wrestling-themed Lariat Bar reopens today at 4 p.m.
