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Sam Bridgeman promises to defend geekdom with his new bar, The Side Quest. The Lakewood joint promises to celebrate all thing geeky and nerdy.

(John Petkovic/The Plain Dealer)

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- West 25th Street has the breweries. East Fourth the chefs. West Sixth the clubs.

Egads, Detroit Avenue has the Invasion of the Geeks. And they're coming -- with swords, dragons, wizards, robots and Whovians.

Put on your big glasses and roll out the pocket protectors . . . The Side Quest Bar is opening any day now.

Sam Bridgeman doesn't pull punches about his soon-to-be nerd palace, located in the old Eddy and Iggy's spot, 17900 Detroit Ave.

"We are a geek bar," he says. "We're appealing to geeks and nerds."

Both words have become watered-down in recent years, used to convey "I'm smart" with passive-aggressive half-panache. But Bridgeman is determined to put the nerd back in the word, by really, really getting geeky.

The bar will roll out table games, comic books, TV nights.

"We timed our grand opening for Saturday, Aug. 30, to get the Whovians in," he says, referring to fans of the TV show "Doctor Who." Yes, Side Quest will host a TV party that night.

How about karaoke? Bike nights? Nude sushi? EDM wet T-shirt nights?

Are you kidding? Bridgeman would rather host lectures.

"We were thinking about one on how to make your own beer or maybe on solar panels," he says. "We don't want to be like all the other bars."

The bar's name has its origins in Dungeons & Dragons, a game Bridgeman likes to play – and promises to host in the joint.

"Geek has become very commercialized, to the point where everyone wants to think they're some geek," he says. "The good thing is there isn't a stigma attached to liking some things anymore, but we're not geek posers. We want a place where you can come and watch the History Channel or read comic books."

The hope is the geeks will drink while they're doing it. Side Quest will serve a wide array of craft beers. Bridgeman even plans on bringing in brews specially customized for Side Quest, including a Dungeons & Dragons beer called 20 DIPA. (Long story, OK?)

Sounds rockin' and all, but, uh, can you keep a bar busy with D&D fans?

"Yes, of course," he says. "Geeks drink, too, you know."