Twibar quenches vampire thirst at Twilight pop-up from Vignettes

Twilbar // Photo by Kelcie McKenney

Brat summer, Twilight fall. Girlhood nostalgia is alive and well. 

For those who didn’t succumb to the Twilight vampire craze of 2008 and beyond—or the resurgence that sprung in 2020 after author Stephenie Meyer published Edward’s perspective book Midnight Sun—Twilight has aged gracefully into a cult classic. 

Even 16 years after the movie premiered, we’re still thirsty for Twilight, and Twibar by Vignettes seeks to quench that thirst. Open through September 21, Twibar is stocked for Team Edward, Team Jacob, and even Team Charlie fans.

This is the bar of a killer

On opening night at 9 p.m., I donned my Alice Cullen baseball outfit and, with three fellow Team Edward fans in tow, entered the town of Forks, now conveniently located in North KC. 

We were greeted by a “The City of Forks Welcomes You” sign in the lobby, along with Bella’s infamous red pickup truck. Did our resident Bella (Maddie) recreate the crash scene? You bet she did. What would be the point of dressing in a flannel and jacket in August if she didn’t?

But hold on tight spider monkey, once you walk further in, that’s where real hoa hoa hoa magic unfolds. (That’s from the Twilight soundtrack’s “Eyes on Fire” by Blue Foundation for those not imbued in the Twilight Renaissance.)

Twibar takes inspiration from the movie: Bella’s bedroom hosts the stage for music performers tonight, while fluffy clouds with flashes of lightning look down on coffin-shaped tables, each with a prop apple ready for a Twilight book cover photo op. A mural of the wolf pack overlooks the room made up of trees in the baseball scene, the Cullen family sitting at their table in the lunchroom, and the biology classroom under a greenhouse roof in the back corner. 

Twibar’s creative director Meggie Boone has to be a fan— the details are noted, even the white owl that sits behind Edward in biology and tiny rats that reference Twilight Shitposting, a Facebook group with over 690,000 members that call themselves the “Ratties” (myself included). 

Twilbar // Photo by Kelcie McKenney

How you likin’ the drinks, girl?

While the ambiance feels like you’re living within Catherine Hardwick’s blue filter, it’s the drinks that (un)liven up the place. I started with “Eclipse” (botanical gin, limoncello, simple syrup, activated charcoal), a strong sipper with novelty vampire fangs, while my clan of friends tried glittery “Team Edward” (strawberry rum, sprite, lime, grenadine), “Cullens Cosmo” (citrus vodka, triple sec, cranberry), and “Bella’s Birthday” (vodka, coffee liqueur, red velvet essence, creamer)—a drink so rich it tastes like you’re eating a red velvet cupcake with coffee. (It gave Hannah an adrenaline rush. It’s very common. You can google it.)

We finished the night with a round of aptly named “Blood Bags” (strawberry rum, cranberry, lemonade) served in, you guessed it, blood bags. A more aesthetic decision than the styrofoam cup pregnant Bella sips from in Breaking Dawn Part 1—and significantly easier on the palette than blood. 

There were other drinks we didn’t get the chance to try; “Jasper’s Julep” (bourbon, mint, sugar, water) served in a baseball hat cup, “Team Jacob” (vodka, lemon, blue curacao, cranberry), and “Victoria’s Secret” (garlic infused vodka, clamato, lemon). Plus “Vino Volturi” serves 2-4 punch style at $45 with brandy, red wine, vanilla, and orange juice—sipped through Twizzler straws. Three shots are also on the menu; “Amber Eyes” (sour apple schnapps, cinnamon bourbon, sour mix), “Red Eyes” (peach schnapps, Irish cream, grenadine), and “Nessie” (passion fruit rum, coconut puree, orange juice). 

The kitchen menu is by ReRoll Tavern, but since it wasn’t on-theme and we were vamping it up at 9 p.m. on a Friday, we decided to skip it. Twibar, call me if you add mushroom ravioli. 

Twilbar // Photo by Kelcie McKenney

Where the hell have you been loca?

It was hard not to grin while the live performers played “Supermassive Black Hole” amidst other cover songs, or while Twilight played on both a projector and TV—at different parts of the movie. Surrounded by mostly women, many wearing Twilight t-shirts and one group even dressed like mustached Charlie Swan, I felt the same giddiness bubble up that I’d experienced at midnight premiers and book launches in my adolescence. If 15-year-old me knew I was still writing about Twilight, she’d be screaming.

That’s the magic of nostalgia speaking. And for six weeks, Twibar bottles it up, tops it with edible glitter, and sticks a straw in it.

Twibar will run at Vignettes through September 21, 2024 and is located at 2376 Armour Boulevard, North Kansas City, MO 64116. It is open Wednesday through Sunday. Twibar Trivia is on Wednesdays and Monstrous Music Bingo on Thursdays. Fridays and Saturdays have unLive Music, and Sundays feature open karaoke night.