Black Mountain bars celebrate Rose, Blanche, Dorothy and Sophia with quirky event

Golden Girls Pub Crawl hits downtown for second year

Fred McCormick
The Valley Echo
April 23, 2026

Lookout Brewing, Que Sera, Old Town District and the Town Pump will celebrate a classic sitcom, April 25, with the return of the Golden Girls Pub Crawl. Courtesy photo

A Black Mountain bar for every “Golden Girl” will join in the fun, beginning at 3 p.m., Saturday, April 25, when a collaborative event featuring four local businesses returns for its second year. 

As participants dressed as Rose, Dorothy, Blanche and Sophia pop in and out of Lookout Brewing, Que Sera, Old Town District and the Town Pump Tavern, the Golden Girls Pub Crawl will celebrate a favorite sitcom from the 1980s and 1990s. 

Costumes are “highly encouraged” for the gathering, which will feature live music, drink specials and branded merchandise. The festivities will kick off at Lookout, one of three original destinations that founded the crawl in the spring of 2025.  

The gathering will feature live music at each location, starting at the brewery, moving to Que Sera, Old Town District and finishing at the Town Pump. An homage to the Emmy Award-winning sitcom was inspired by a simple gift from a customer, according to Lookout manager Tonya Engelbrecht.

“One of our regular customers brought in a Betty White mask years ago,” she said. “We started hiding the mask in different places around the brewery, dressing it up for the holidays and Betty kind of became an iconic figure in here.”

Not long after the launch of Old Town District in 2024, the staff of Lookout had an opportunity to thank the tap room on Black Mountain Avenue for being a friend with a gift.

Lookout Brewing owner John Garcia showcases a commemorative t-shirt, as downtown Black Mountain businesses prepare for the second Golden Girls Pub Crawl, April 25. Courtesy photo

“We’re really good friends with Bud (Rainey) over at OTD, and we were chatting and he jokingly said, ‘we need to be the Blanche bar,’” Engelbrecht said. “A few days later we ordered a life-sized Blanche cut-out for them, and she’s still there.”

The oldest bar in downtown fittingly represents Sophia, played in the series by Estelle Getty. 

“The Pump has Sophia, and I don’t think Que Sera will have a Dorothy cut-out, but we’re excited to have them as part of this event this year,” the Lookout manager said. 

The first 20 people who arrive at Lookout, in costume, will receive commemorative beer glasses. The brewery is also selling a limited selection of t-shirts celebrating the event. 

The success of the inaugural pub crawl led to its return this spring. 

“It was so fun to see so many people dressed up and walking around town,” Engelbrecht said. “I just think it will be so cool to see this grow, and in like 10 years, Black Mountain ends up with hundreds of Golden Girls walking around downtown.”