Icebox Brewing -Hatch Valley Taproom

This is the only bar in Hatch but despite that, it's a pretty cool place. Lots of space at the bar as well as the main room where there are several tables and a stage. There is also a back room that has pool tables, plus corn hole and a pinball machine. We were in town for a few days for the Chili Festival. Friday was a medium sized crowd and they had karaoke followed by a live band. Bartenders Theresa and Shelby did a great job of attending to customers and despite being busy always had smiles on their faces and were friendly and outgoing. Isabell who was working on the gift shop side of the store came over later in the evening to help do dishes. She was equally as nice. I wish I would have caught the bands name, they were actually pretty good. They did several Johnny Cash tunes and actually did them justice. Saturday brought a much bigger crowd, with a long line for people ordering drinks who were not sitting at the bar. (They don't seem to have servers other than the bartenders and a couple younger guys who must work in the kitchen who run food orders out. In addition to Theresa and Shelby there was a gentleman behind the bar who was pouring some of the beer and drinks and another bartender; a woman with a baseball cap with Boss Lady written in rhinestones across the front. Unfortunately while she may have been necessary to help take care of the crowd, she sure didn't have the friendly disposition that the other employees seem to have and never seemed to smile and just continuously barked orders and the others. At one point the person sitting next to me grabbed a menu that was on the bar and bumped a water glass which spilled. She actually just, without a word spoken, threw a towel at us so we could wipe it up ourselves. A couple of the beer options had run out on Friday and were not replaced for Saturday which was a bummer but a decent alternative was found.. in addition to the beer they have Vodka, silver tequila, bourbon and gin available for some basic mixed drinks (sorry millennials no AMF shots available here) I believe they're their own brand that they distill at their Las Cruses location. I have to say I did enjoy the vodka, it was very smooth but the gin was way too floral for me. The food offered is pretty standard bar fare but the fried pickles were better than most. They also offer pizza. We didn't have any but the people around us seemed to enjoy it.