By Charlene Arsenault

For a lot of bars, the trendy, cool vibe seems to wear off in a year or two.
Vincent Hemmeter, who is the master of not trying to create a vibe but simply does in spite of that, made Vincent's what it is by just letting it be the bar it should be. For that, it's still one of the coolest places to hang out after 10 years.

Hemmeter (who also owns Ralph's and Nick's) opened Vincent's on Dec. 23, 1997, and throws an anniversary bash this Dec. 23 — Sunday night. "When I designed it," says Hemmeter, "I didn't try to make it something trendy. I went for a classic bar look. I felt that was something missing in Worcester — just that old classic bar with hip music geared toward a younger crowd in some ways, but with a classic bar feel." He attributes Vincent's staying power to "hard work, good employees, a good crowd and a faithful, loyal customer base."

Vincent Hemmeter

With a small but fresh bar-food menu that includes meatball sandwiches and a cheese plate, along with a fine selection of brews, bartenders who can make the best dirty martinis in town, one of the best jukeboxes around, Vincent's still hosts live music performers at least four days of the week — many of them regulars, such as Night Train and Jon Short.

Huck's Scott Ricciuti, though, was the first to play music in that dark corner, and he'll be the master of ceremonies on Dec. 23. "When I first booked him, I said I wanted to keep it quiet," laughs Hemmeter. "He walked in with all these amps. I said, ‘Acoustic, Scott, you don't plug in.' There will be a cast of other characters — Frank Morey and Jon Short and whoever shows up. We'll have some food, too. I'll put out a spread."

The spread, though, won't include the long-retired Gobbler — a mammoth slow-roasted turkey sandwich on Italian bread with stuffing and cranberry sauce. "The Gobbler is a lot like Bowler's," says Hemmeter. "Everybody remembers how great it was. But like with Bowler's, everybody remembers those three big nights, and people don't understand why it closed. I remember a guy once said to me, three years after Bowler's closed — ‘Bowler's closed? Why?" I said, ‘Because you didn't notice for three years.' Everybody remembers eating The Gobbler ... once."o