An Iowa bar has been named one of the best in the United States

Can you imagine being hired to find the best bars in the United States? Doing nothing but traveling from state to state, sampling drink after drink, soaking up the atmosphere at some of the best watering holes this country has to offer. The food writers of the USA TODAY Network got together, pooled their knowledge, and compiled a list of the 2024 USA TODAY Bars of the Year, and one bar in Iowa made the cut!

There are only 27 bars on the 2024 list, and this Iowa bar is like stepping into a time machine and going back to the 1950s. Hello, Marjorie is located at 717 Locust Street in Des Moines. According to the Des Moines Register, the retro lounge is housed in the former Des Moines Register and Tribune Building. Hello, Marjorie features thoughtfully designed conversational booths decorated with retro couches, vintage chairs, globes and lamps, the Register reports. A pink neon sign hangs above a fireplace with a quote from Jack Kerouac’s 1957 novel “On the Road.”

In addition to the great decor, Hello, Marjorie also serves some of the most amazing cocktails in the Midwest. The Register recommends ordering their namesake drink. Hello, Marjorie is made with elderberry and spiced pear infused with vodka. And if you’re feeling bold enough, there’s a separate little speakeasy behind Hello, Marjorie called Good News, Darling with its own drinks and menu, according to The Register.

Hello, Marjorie’s has been open since 2017 and is named after the owner’s grandmother, whose husband died suddenly of a heart attack, according to the Register. Marjorie Anderson raised her three daughters alone afterward and reportedly enjoyed a slow gin and a cigarette.

Hello, Marjorie is open 7 days a week from 4pm