That ‘Stranger Things’ Pop-Up Bar Got a Dorky Cease-and-Desist From Netflix
Stranger Things may not have felt the Emmy love, but more than a few enterprising minds want to be in the Upside Down business. So it was with a recent Chicago pop-up bar, but if you have to get a cease-and-desist letter from Netflix, better it be of the dorky, threaten-to-call-your-mother kind.
The bar in question (of course named “The Upside Down”) sprung up at Chicago event space The Emporium, featuring locales like the Byers’ Christmas light-strewn living room and the Hawkins lab, and such adorable “Eleven’s Eggo” drinks as to feature their namesake waffle. The bar was scheduled to operate through September, with owners Danny and Doug Marks intent to re-up through October’s Season 2 premiere, but DNAInfo reports that Netflix issued a gentle, adorably hard-to-stay-mad-at injunction:
Danny and Doug,
My walkie-talkie is busted so I had to write this note instead. I heard you launched a Stranger Things pop-up bar at your Logan Square location. Look, I don’t want you to think I’m a total wastoid, and I love how much you guys love the show. (Just wait until you see Season 2!) But unless I’m living in the Upside Down, I don’t think we did a deal with you for this pop-up. You’re obviously creative types, so I’m sure you can appreciate that it’s important to us to have a say in how our fans encounter the worlds we build.
We’re not going to go full Dr. Brenner on you, but we ask that you please (1) not extend the pop-up beyond its 6 week run ending in September, and (2) reach out to us for permission if you plan to do something like this again. Let me know as soon as possible that you agree to these requests.
We love our fans more than anything, but you should know that the demogorgon is not always as forgiving. So please don’t make us call your mom.
As veiled legal threats go, things could have been much worse. And hey, if the door stays open for more licensed pop-up bars, how about some GLOW-ing tequila slammers, or A Series of Unfortunate Drunk-Dials? Dear White Russians? 13 Rieslings Why? I get paid to be this stupid, you know.