Local bars are hot spots for ‘cougars’ to hunt

Cougars are not an uncommon thing in Mount Pleasant.

Cougars, older women who chase after younger men, find the bars are the best way to find what they are looking for.

“We have a decent cougar population,” said Greg Brimmer, bartender and booker at Rubbles, 112 W. Michigan St. “On the weekend, we have about two or three a night and we have some regulars.”
O’Kelly’s waitress Shannon Lewis said she is always confused when she sees cougars with younger men.

“When I first saw them come in, I was like, ‘Is that his mom or girlfriend?’” said Shannon Lewis, a waitress at O’Kelly’s, 2000 S. Mission St.

While Brimmer said more women go to meet younger men at Rubbles, Lewis said the situation is a little different at O’Kelly’s.

“We have a small amount that come in,” Lewis said. “They usually come in together… already with a young man.”

In recent years, the term “cougar” has increased in prominence in popular culture, defined as a woman usually older than 35 who goes after men at least 10 years younger.

Even though the women are older, their behavior is relatively normal.

“They don’t act too different from a regular college girl,” said Chad Miller, a bartender at The Cabin, 930 W. Broomfield. “They usually act really cool.”

Younger after the older

At Rubbles and the Cabin, the women do not have to chase after the younger men.

“The men usually come after them,” Brimmer said. “It seems to kind of be the ‘in’ thing, I hear that a lot of guys like the older women, I don’t see it, but I know of a few instances, it seems to be one of the hip trends.”

Brimmer said he was not sure why some of the older women go after the younger men, but one reason could be to feel young again.

“There’s a lot of things we try to do to stay young, it could be an underlying theme,” Brimmer said.

Brimmer also said he may have another theory about why exactly cougars are around.

“I think it’s like the female equivalent of a mid-life crisis, they might find themselves single and think, ‘Why not go after the younger guys?,” he said.

Whether it is the women may want to feel younger so they chase after younger men, or they do it for other reasons, sometimes it could just be that they happen to like the younger men.

“You can’t help who you like,” Lewis said.