This morning’s story in the Post’s Weekend section alerted us to the surprising, yet ultimately happy news that long time Galaxy Hut owner Alice Despard is selling her much loved neighborhood watering hole. We were shocked until we read on and realized Despard is keeping it all in the family and passing the Hut along to long time bartender, Hump Night organizer , and Arlington hipster Lary Hoffman.

We’ve been hitting the Hut for ages, and have slowly watched our once indie-friendly Arlington neighborhood morph into a gentrified yuppie haven of overpriced condos and ridiculously large restaurants. Despite all the changes, the Hut has been able to maintain its independent spirit and we’re relieved that it will continue to do so for a little while longer. That doesn’t mean there won’t be a few changes, according to the Post:

Changes are in the works, including a number of cosmetic fixes, a revamped menu and, for the first time, a cover charge during live music. At the moment, bands are paid with a percentage of the evening’s sales, which Hoffman disagrees with. “I understand why Alice kept it free,” he says. “But I can’t give away $20,000 a year to bands. This isn’t a community center.”

We could make a laundry list of the Hut’s many charms (its “patio” being one of our favorites), of all the memorable nights we’ve spent there, of all the great bands we’ve seen (the Long Winters show a few years back is still memorable) but mainly it’s the many forgettable but utterly pleasant evenings we’ve spent there enjoying the company of friends and strangers over a few beers that keep us coming back.

So thanks Alice, for giving us a true neighborhood bar to come home to, and congratulations to Lary who, we have to point out, always remembers our names. We do have one request though: can you bring back karaoke night?