Meat markets get a bad rap, especially the ones that can't be bothered to pretend that they're something other than meat markets. The Industry is that kind of bar. Still cavernous and spare, the former Copper Door has been otherwise spruced up. But a paint job and double flat-screen televisions can’t hide the truth: The place is designed to attract power drinkers. The only real difference is that the Copper Door’s regulars were forty-something blue-collar types looking to booze, while the Industry’s target market consists of twenty-something blue-collar types who are looking to booze and trawl for strange. In Georgetown, where hipster cool is currency, that will earn a bar some sneering disdain. But the Industry doesn't care, and that's precisely what makes it so charming. Instead of a diverse whiskey selection, it has an everyday happy hour where well drinks and pints are both $2.50 from 3-6 p.m. Instead of a scene, it offers the latest in digital jukebox technology, and the prospect of seeing women gyrate to radio-friendly hip-hop with the sound cranked to 11. But even if you never take to the ambiance, it would be hard to deny the drawing power of Taco Tuesdays, where you can eat and drink your fill from 3-6 with a few guys who just knocked off work and then duck out before the lushes show up. VERNAL COLEMAN
