Update: In what many will undoubtedly view as a total Jerry move, Drink Company’s fantastic-looking Rick and Morty pop-up Wubba Lubba Dub Pub has had to shut its doors before anyone was able to portal in, after they say Turner Broadcasting and Adult Swim walked away from negotiations to let them operate without copyright infringement. Here is Drink Company’s official statement on the surprise shuttering:
“Wubba Lubba Dub PUB was designed by fans for fans, though we think everyone would have enjoyed it. It was a labor of love and included hand sewn Meeseeks from our CEO Angie’s mother; graffiti work by an incredible artist; a 25-foot Ruben cut out by our Special Projects Director, hockey-referee-turned-craftsman Matt Fox; and deep references to a show that has made us all laugh out loud and confront the deeper meaning behind the gags. In a word, we are fans geeking out.
Turner Broadcasting/Cartoon Network wasn’t willing to let us do that and demanded we shut down. We then reached an agreement, and thus delayed for a week, but they changed their minds, threatened us with exorbitant fees and then took everything off the table today and refused to talk any further. The whole time we were operating in good faith and willing to make concessions to bring this wonderful work of fan art to life.
Now we have to lay off our beloved employees and take a massive financial hit, all because Turner Broadcasting/Cartoon Network are unwilling to figure out a way to let a great fan tribute happen. We are so sorry to all the fans but we also have learned a valuable lesson: when it comes to free speech and fair use, Turner Broadcasting/Cartoon Network believes that should only be a joke on the show.”
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What do you do when you’ve already created a bar based on the most popular show in the world? You make one for the most popular show in the infinite universes. That’s right, it’s a Rick and Morty pop-up bar! The show’s been turned into the Wubba Lubba Dub Pub!
On August 16, the Drink Company will follow up last year’s massively popular, and massively impressive, Game of Thrones pop-up in Washington D.C. with another capital city tavern tribute to a hit TV show, only this time they will send fans through numerous portals of the Adult Swim series. The “fully immersive experience” will include plenty of touches that will appeal to hardcore fans, including their “take on Anatomy Park, the Cromulons’ Cygnus-5 expanse, dimension 35-C Farmer Rick’s Mega Tree farm, a gang of life-sized Meeseeks that have lived entirely too long and, of course, Real Fake Doors.”
https://twitter.com/SilentOatmeal/status/1027360287329017858
The team who came up with the idea (which they say they did while dressed as the Council of Ricks on Halloween) promise there will be plenty of other Rick and Morty Easter eggs in the space for viewers to enjoy, including a replica of Rick’s lab in the garage, a reverse giraffe, and the Space Cruiser. And just like with their Game of Thrones pop-up they will have a special entrance for costumed guests. (Which is a great way to avoid long lines.) Sorry to say, you will have to leave your own Mortys at home, since the pub is 21+ only.
Come get riggity riggity wrecked at DC’s Rick and Morty bar 🚀https://t.co/VW1kZq52nT#WubbaLubbaDubPUB pic.twitter.com/UCT4JfmQqC
— BrightestYoungThings (@BYT) August 8, 2018
In addition to beer and wine options, patrons who stop by for a drink (and who hopefully show more restraint than Rick would) will get to enjoy original, specialty show-themed cocktails priced around “six-and-a-half Brapples.” (That’s $12Â to $14 each.) Those include:
- Get Schwifty (tequila, St. Germain, watermelon, lime, salt)
- Plumbus (St. George Green Chile vodka, Manzanilla, grapefruit, sparkling water)
- Existence Is Pain (gin, blanc vermouth, Blue Curacao, coconut water, lemon, absinthe)
- Mr. Poopybutthole (whiskey, fortified apples)
- Rickey Sanchez (scotch, citrus cordial, sparkling water)
- Morty’s Mind Blower (RroseÌ​,​ strawberry campari, Blanc Vermouth, sparkling water)
- Pirates of the Pancreas (Plantation Pineapple Rum, Manzanilla, Amontillado, coconut, pineapple, salt)
- Peace Among Worlds (sake, melon, cucumber)
- Keep Summer Safe (Macchu Pisco, Szechuan Ginger Cordial, lime, sparkling water)
- Concentrated Dark Matter (Armagnac, vermouth, Amaro, orange oil)
The menu will also feature $6 themed shots, a.k.a.”Lil Bits,” which include:
- Pickle Rick Back (Old Grand Dad Bonded, Gordy’s Pickle Brine)
- You Pass Butter (buttered rum, maple cinnamon, orange, bitters)
- Squanch (squanch….no, seriously, that’s all it says, so good luck)
When Wubba Lubba Dub Pub closes its doors on October 6, Drink Company will auction off their custom Rick and Morty-inspired art from the space. And in a very unselfish, non-Rick move, they will donate all sales to the local non-profit Destination Imagination, which is “dedicated to a hands-on system of learning that fosters students’ creativity, courage and curiosity through open-ended academic challenges in the fields of STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics), fine arts and service learning.”
Which means it’s possible someday a Rick and Morty bar will be partly responsible for the scientist who discovers inter-dimensional portal gun technology. We’ll drink to that.
What part of the bar are you the most excited for? Let us know in the comments below.
Wubba Lubba Dub Pup is located at 1839 7th Street NW, Washington, D.C., and is open Sunday through Thursday, 5pm to 12:30am, and Friday and Saturday, 5pm to 1:30am.
Images: Drink Company
