I've been throwing darts at Cactus Moon for about four years, and I even have a plaque on the wall,…read moreso I've spent enough time here to qualify as part of the furniture.
During dart season, I was here at least twice a week. However, after moving about half a mile away in December 2025, I started coming even more, sometimes three or four times a week, usually Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and the occasional Saturday. I genuinely considered myself a regular.
Unfortunately, there's one small problem: apparently I'm a regular who has achieved invisibility.
Unless Jackie B is working, getting the attention of the bar staff can sometimes feel like trying to communicate with a satellite. Jackie B has always been the highlight for me, she actually sees the customers, takes care of people, and somehow manages to notice that humans are sitting down in the dart area. Every time Jackie B is working, the experience is noticeably better.
The service in the dart area can otherwise be extremely hit-or-miss, particularly during the day. If you're shooting darts, you may want to bring a flare gun, smoke signal, or possibly a small flag. There seems to be a mysterious service blind spot, especially around the first few tables near the smoking area.
But honestly, the biggest disappointment for me has been the removal of the Medalist dart boards.
When Cactus Moon got rid of them, it didn't just mean losing a couple of dart boards. It left several of us regular dart players without a home bar with no explanation from anybody at Cactus Moon. And unfortunately, many of my Medalist dart partners simply stopped coming to Cactus Moon altogether. We had a group, a routine, and a place where we played. Suddenly, we didn't.
It was honestly embarrassing to be left scrambling for somewhere else to play after years of treating Cactus Moon as our home. For a group of regular customers who had invested that much time and money into the bar, it felt like being politely evicted from your own clubhouse.
And that's the frustrating part: Cactus Moon used to be my favorite bar. I even chose my apartment partly because I was so close to it.
There are still plenty of things I like about the place. The food is genuinely good. The Wednesday and Thursday half-price burgers are a great deal, and the Thursday night wing specials are worth showing up for. And the Friday-night prime rib is really darn good. If you come here hungry, order something--I've had consistently good food.
Then there's today, 8/30/26.
I came in for breakfast and darts, fully prepared to spend some money at a place I've supported for years. After 94 minutes and two drinks, I finally gave up on breakfast and went somewhere else to eat. It was nearly 30 minutes between receiving my second drink and finally asking for my tab so I could take my business elsewhere.
I understand that bars get busy, staffing can be difficult, and sometimes service falls through the cracks. Today was not one of those days.
When you're coming in three or four times a week, tipping well, and spending a lot of time there, repeatedly feeling invisible gets old.
At this point, I'm pretty sure I've reached a level of invisibility normally reserved for ghosts.
The irony is that I'll probably still be back. It's the only dart bar around, and I'll likely show up for the Friday dart tournament in the near future. I just may be bringing my wallet along strictly for moral support.
Cactus Moon, I really do want to like you again. Please find your dart players, and maybe find me while you're at it.