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Quark's Bar, 2374

Quark's Bar, Grill, Gaming House and Holosuite Arcade

Quark's Bar Sign

Quark's Bar Sign in 2381

For the mirror universe counterpart, please see Quark's (mirror).
Quark's Bar redirects here; for additional meanings of "Quark's Bar", please see Quark's Bar.
"All gambling on DS9 happens at Quark's or it doesn't happen."
– Quark, 2370 ("Rivals")

Quark's Bar, Grill, Gaming House and Holosuite Arcade, or Quark's Bar and Holding Company (commonly known simply as Quark's), was a popular recreational facility located on the space station Deep Space 9.

Overview[]

Quark's Bar, Who Mourns for Morn 1

Looking down at the crowd from the second level

"Come to Quark's, Quark's is fun, come right now, don't walk – run!"

- advertising jingle, 2372 (listen here) file info (DS9: "The Quickening")

Quark's was the multi-level, vibrant and popular central attraction of Deep Space 9's Promenade, drawing crowds of travelers and station inhabitants with its offerings of drink, food, gossip, gaming and fantasy fulfillment. The proprietor of the establishment was Quark, a Ferengi entrepreneur and sometimes petty criminal who was the eternal thorn in the side of the station's Chief of Security, Odo. Despite his alliances on the wrong side of the law, Quark was a capable and amiable host, and the bar was usually one of the most popular places for recreation on the station.

Business in Quark's was conducted in gold pressed latinum. The bar sometimes featured live music, (DS9: "Emissary", "Sanctuary", "The Ship") and occasionally offered cut-price drinks during happy hour. (DS9: "Apocalypse Rising", "The Reckoning") The ambient noise level was typically 65 decibels; when Klingons were in the room, it could go as high as 85 decibels. (DS9: "The Way of the Warrior") According to a very small sign above the main entrance, the establishment was not responsible for the loss of any personal items. (DS9: "The Forsaken") When Rom offered to buy the bar from Quark in 2375, Quark admitted that 5,000 bars of latinum (and not one slip more) was a fair price for it. (DS9: "The Dogs of War") As proprietor of the bar, Quark was a member of the Promenade Merchants' Association. (DS9: "Call to Arms")

When Quark and Rom left the station to visit Ferenginar in 2371, the main entrance to the bar was locked using a tripartite microsealing mechanism devised by Rom, the most convoluted locking device Odo had ever seen. (DS9: "Family Business")

Layout[]

Leeta tends the bar at Quark's

The busy bar

Late night tongo in Quark's

Level 1

The establishment occupied a central position on the Promenade, extending over three stories with entrances on at least two. Spiral staircases provided pedestrian access between the different levels, and the central portion of flooring of the second and third levels was cut out with railed balconies overlooking the levels below. According to the station's computer, Quark's was located on Level 7, Section 5. (DS9: "Playing God")

Level 1 – The main entrance to Quark's was on Level 1, together with the bar, various gambling tables and a number of tables and chairs where customers could sit and enjoy their beverages. The main entrance, bar and gambling area were brightly lit, while lighting in the periphery was more subdued so as to provide a degree of privacy for the business deals and covert exchanges that occurred there.

Levels 2 and 3 – The upper levels provided more tables and seating and housed the holosuite arcade. There was also a second-level entrance from the Promenade.

Quark's seemed to be the only part of the Promenade that had a third level, and little of it was ever seen on screen. It appeared to comprise only a balcony and walkway.

The inside of Quark's was dominated by a large distinctive yellow and red mural and decorative brass poles that extended up through the cut-out section of all three levels. Part of the mural also served as the bar's logo and was sometimes displayed on information screens embedded into the walls of two large open windows looking out over the Promenade on Level 1.

Quark's viewscreen

A viewscreen placed in front of the mural in 2370

If necessary, a large viewscreen could be placed in front of the mural so sporting events, like racquetball, could be observed by patrons in the bar. (DS9: "Rivals")

Quark's had a storeroom where stocks of drink and food for the bar were kept. The door was secured with a pulsatel lockseal, and although staff were not supposed to enter without Quark's permission, Rom admitted in 2370 that he had managed to open the door without using the desealer on a number of occasions. There was also a latinum floor vault, in which takings from the day's business were secured; Rom admitted having also broken into the floor vault while Quark was away, by using magnasite drops to dissolve through the duranium plating. (DS9: "Necessary Evil")

The locations of the storeroom and latinum floor vault in relation to the rest of the bar were not revealed. The inside of the store room, however, was seen in "The Dogs of War", when Quark went there to take an important call from Grand Nagus Zek.

Behind the bar[]

Quark's replicator

The replicators and exotic bottles behind the bar

A large number of drinks and brightly colored drinking glasses were stored behind the bar, along with two replicators, a computer access terminal, and a selection of isolinear rods containing programs for use in the holosuites upstairs.

Quark also kept a number of (presumably stolen) security rods behind the bar, which he used to tap into secure information in the station's computer; he had managed to acquire even higher clearance level access than Odo. (DS9: "Civil Defense")

Occasionally, a computer display located behind the bar and directly above the drinks replicator would display the English word "QUARK'S". The word would scroll from left to right across the screen. A similar screen was sometimes seen on the wall to the left of the main entrance on Level 1. (DS9: "Resurrection")

Food and drink[]

Quark pouring a modela aperitif

The cordial host

A range of foods and beverages was served at Quark's. Most of the food was replicated, while the drinks were either replicated or came fresh from bottles kept behind the bar. Quark also kept a private stock of drinks, which included Maraltian Seev-ale and Aldebaran whiskey. (DS9: "Duet", "Prophet Motive")

When the replicators broke down in 2369, Quark managed to sustain his business by breaking into a crew quarters and using the replicator there to produce food and drink for his customers. Unfortunately, the replicator had been booby trapped to spread the Aphasia virus, and his efforts inadvertently lead to the spread of the virus through the station's population. (DS9: "Babel")

Quark was often hired to cater events and meetings on the station, particularly in the wardroom, where he provided food and drinks together with a waiter service; he charged by the head for such events. (DS9: "The Adversary", "Crossfire", "Business as Usual") He also indulged in culinary experimentation from time to time, resulting in creations of varying success: Chief Miles O'Brien branded the short-lived "Quarktajino" (a decaffeinated version of famous Klingon coffee, raktajino) "poison", while the "Kai Winn" chocolate soufflé was very popular. (DS9: "Nor the Battle to the Strong", "Life Support")

Several pieces of set dressing, including various types of glasses and bottles, were sold off on the It's A Wrap! sale and auction on eBay. [1] [2]

Known foods and beverages available at Quark's[]

Because Quark's was fitted with replicators, it could be assumed that most foods or beverages that could be ordered at any other replicator on the station could also be ordered at Quark's.

Gaming[]

Dabo table close-up

Dabo: a popular (and financially dangerous) game of chance and skill

Quark's also operated as a casino, which accepted both gold-pressed latinum and gambling tokens as gaming tender; in rare occasions, Quark was known to issue credit vouchers. (TNG: "Firstborn"; DS9: "Defiant")

A number of gaming tables were located on Level 1, the most prominent of which was dabo. The spinning of the dabo wheel and cries of "Dabo!" were familiar background noises in Quark's. In 2373, an alien visitor was caught manipulating the dabo wheel using a graviton emitter hidden in a ring on his hand to allow his associate to win the game. (DS9: "A Simple Investigation")

Games of tongo were occasionally played, (DS9: "Meridian", "Business as Usual", "Change of Heart", "Rules of Acquisition") and a dartboard was installed at the insistence of Miles O'Brien. (DS9: "Visionary") Other alien games were also brought to the bar from time to time, like chula (DS9: "Move Along Home"), and Quark was warned on several occasions against attempting to stage illegal Cardassian vole fights. (DS9: "Visionary", "Through the Looking Glass") Dabo girl Leeta suggested in 2373 that if she was in charge, Quark's would have three dom-jot tables and two Prayko alleys. (DS9: "Doctor Bashir, I Presume")

Quark regularly ran betting pools, including taking bets on a fight between Benjamin Sisko and Q, (DS9: "Q-Less") springball and darts matches between Julian Bashir and Miles O'Brien, (DS9: "Rivals", "Shakaar") the outcomes of Odo's security investigations, (DS9: "Crossfire") the time of return of Worf and Ezri Dax to the station after they were kidnapped by the Breen, (DS9: "The Changing Face of Evil") and Bajoran elections for the new Kai. When she took command of the station in 2375, Colonel Kira Nerys made all betting pools illegal. (DS9: "What You Leave Behind")

Holosuites[]

Kira and Dax Camelot

Holosuite adventures

The upper levels of Quark's housed an arcade of at least six holosuites since 2363. (DS9: "Profit and Loss", "Dramatis Personae") Credit for use of the holosuites could be purchased at the bar, as could a number of enticing holographic programs.

The holosuites were often used by visitors to Quark's for programs of an adult (sensual, and even sexual) nature, while residents of the station and members of its crew used them for more benign recreations. Chief Miles O'Brien regularly went kayaking in the holosuites (sometimes accompanied by Odo), (DS9: "Heart of Stone" et al.) while Doctor Julian Bashir enjoyed playing the lead in a series of holonovels about a British secret agent. (DS9: "Our Man Bashir", et al.) O'Brien and Bashir eventually combined their love of holoprograms and spent hours together in the holosuites recreating old Earth battles such as the Battle of Britain and the Battle of the Alamo. (DS9: "Homefront", "Wrongs Darker Than Death or Night", et al.) In an effort to exercise Major Kira's under-developed imagination, Jadzia Dax took her to the holosuites several times, where they recreated the Hoobishan Baths on Trill and Camelot from Earth mythology. Worf and Jadzia shared a number of Klingon exercise programs and historical recreations. (DS9: "The Way of the Warrior", et al.) Program Bashir 62, Vic's lounge featuring Vic Fontaine, was very popular with the station's command crew throughout late 2374 and 2375. (DS9: "His Way", et al.) In 2369, a murder took place in Holosuite 4, the murder of Ibudan. (DS9: "A Man Alone") Kor often visited the holosuite to play the Battle of Klach D'kel Brakt, a battle in which he had been victorious over the Romulans in 2271. One time, Kor was playing this battle but Odo arrested him for being drunk in public, and he and Quark sent him off to the drunk tank to sleep it off. (DS9: "Blood Oath")

For a full list of holosuite programs used on Deep Space 9, see holographic programs.

Quark claimed that the only person on the station who could keep his holosuites in working order was his brother Rom. Because Quark did not allow him to buy new components, Rom found it necessary to patch the holosuites' circuitry using components salvaged from all over the station, including such diverse items as cooking utensils and Starfleet LCARS interface panels. Rom's expertise with the holosuites turned out to be instrumental in the rescue of the senior crew in 2372, after their transporter patterns were dumped into one of Bashir's secret agent programs. (DS9: "Our Man Bashir") After Rom left Quark's employ and started to work on the station's engineering crew, maintenance of the holosuites suffered due to Rom's busy schedule. Captain Sisko was injured by a plasma burst in one of the holosuites in 2373, due to its poor state of repair. (DS9: "Rapture")

Staff[]

Rom and his union

The staff of Quark's in 2372

The staff of Quark's fell into two groups: waiters and dabo girls. The waiters were mostly Ferengi, while the dabo girls were hired mainly for their alluring physical appearance, useful in distracting punters at the dabo wheel.

Quark believed in Rule of Acquisition #211 – "Employees are the rungs on the ladder of success. Don't hesitate to step on them". The staff of Quark's were strictly forbidden to leave the premises during working hours, and were given no sick days, no vacations, and no paid overtime. (DS9: "Bar Association") The dabo girls were required to give Quark twenty percent of their tips, and he also expected sexual favors from them. (DS9: "The Dogs of War", "Profit and Lace")

The staff became so disgruntled with the way they were treated that in 2372, under the leadership of Rom, they broke Ferengi law and formed a union to demand better employment terms. The union, known as the Guild of Restaurant and Casino Employees, staged a strike, forcing Quark to replace the staff with temperamental holographic waiters. The union was disbanded after Quark eventually agreed to meet their demands. (DS9: "Bar Association")

Employees of Quark's[]

Rom worked as a waiter and also occasionally as a pit boss on the gambling tables. He was promoted to the position of Assistant Manager of Policy and Clientele in mid-2369, and later left Quark's to join the station's engineering crew following the strike action of 2372. He returned to this position in 2373 after the Dominion took control of the station following the Second Battle of Deep Space 9. (DS9: "Emissary", "The Nagus", "Bar Association", "Call to Arms") Nog worked as a waiter but left in early 2372 to attend Starfleet Academy, determined to make a better life for himself. (DS9: "Heart of Stone", "Little Green Men") Rom and dabo girl Leeta grew attracted to one another and eventually married. (DS9: "Let He Who Is Without Sin...", "Doctor Bashir, I Presume", "Call to Arms")

Waiter Broik and dabo girl M'Pella were frequently seen during the seven-year run of Deep Space Nine, but were never credited nor given lines until "The Dogs of War", the show's penultimate episode and the last one to prominently feature the Ferengi ensemble and the bar.
In the Deep Space Nine relaunch novels, Quark hired a former Orion slave girl, Treir (β), to replace Leeta as his new dabo girl. Treir later hired the bar's first dabo boy: Hetik (β), a Bajoran male.

Patrons[]

Morn[]

Morn art and Bajoran mourner

A tribute to Morn, the best customer Quark's ever had

"When Morn leaves, it's all over."

- unofficial Rule of Acquisition #286, suggested by Quark in 2371 (DS9: "The House of Quark")

Of all the visitors and customers ever to patronize Quark's, one stood (or rather, sat) proudly as the most loyal, most popular, and biggest spender of them all – resident barfly Morn. He was almost always to be found perched at the bar and became such a mascot of Quark's that when he left on business in 2374, Quark was forced to install a holographic version of him to keep the other customers happy. Morn paid his bar bill at the end of every month, which – according to Quark – was a substantial amount of money. (DS9: "Who Mourns for Morn?")

It was a recurring joke in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine that while many of the customers of Quark's would complain about Morn being an insatiable chatterbox, he was never seen or heard to utter a word on screen.

Morn faked his own death in 2374 as part of a scam to rid himself of a number of unsavory claimants to his estate, namely his accomplices from the Lissepian Mother's Day Heist. Quark was unwittingly drawn into the ruse, and a memorial service was held in Quark's to which many of the station's inhabitants brought gifts for the departed, a Lurian tradition. In an attempt to compensate for the loss of the bar's mascot, Quark started the tradition of "keeping Morn's seat warm", in which customers were urged to ensure that Morn's favorite bar stool was never unoccupied. Morn later returned to the bar after Quark, at considerable peril, managed to escape the clutches of Morn's associates and they were arrested. (DS9: "Who Mourns for Morn?")

The first person to keep Morn's seat warm was played by Mark Allen Shepherd, the actor usually inside Morn's extensive make-up.
In an alternate future created when Benjamin Sisko was killed aboard the USS Defiant in 2372, Quark eventually left Deep Space 9 and Morn took over the bar, which was rechristened "Morn's". This timeline was erased from existence by the actions of the future Jake Sisko. (DS9: "The Visitor")

Notable visitors[]

Harry Kim and Quark

Harry Kim visits Quark's in 2371

Notable visitors to Quark's included:

  • Lwaxana Troi – the Betazoid ambassador first visited Quark's as part of a delegation of Federation Ambassadors in 2369. While there, her latinum hair brooch was stolen by a Dopterian; Odo intervened, and Lwaxana became infatuated with him. The pair later became close friends, and in 2372 they married as part of a plan to free Lwaxana's unborn child from the clutches of its Tavnian father; Quark threw a party in the bar for the happy couple and their wedding guests. (DS9: "The Forsaken", "The Muse")
  • Vash and Q – the dubious archaeologist partnered with Quark to auction a collection of exotic artifacts brought back from her travels in the Gamma Quadrant when she returned through the wormhole in 2369. She was trailed by Q, who staged some of his usual tricks in the bar and then outbid Quark's clients at the auction. (DS9: "Q-Less")
  • William and Thomas Riker – Will Riker visited Quark's in 2370. He spent a couple of hours there and was loaned three strips of latinum by Jadzia Dax when his winning streak at the dabo wheel ended; by the time he left he had all of Quark's latinum and a date with one of the dabo girls. Unable to pay Riker's dabo winnings, Quark gave him instead credit vouchers redeemable only at his establishment. This event was recalled by Thomas Riker, posing as Will, when he visited Deep Space 9 in 2371. Thomas met Kira Nerys in Quark's during his visit. (DS9: "Defiant", TNG: "Firstborn")
  • Zek – the Ferengi Grand Nagus visited Quark's on a number of occasions, most notably in 2369 when he pretended to name Quark as his successor, again in 2374 during his temporary disposition as Nagus, and in 2375 when he returned to the bar once again to name his successor (this time for real, and this time it was Rom). (DS9: "The Nagus", "Profit and Lace", "The Dogs of War")

History[]

Terok Nor[]

Odo in Quark's on Terok Nor

A dark and smoggy Quark's during the Cardassian Occupation

Damaged Promenade in Emissary

The heavily-damaged Promenade following the Cardassian withdrawal in 2369

Although a vibrant, happy and colorful place during Starfleet's tenure on the station, the atmosphere in Quark's wasn't always so affable and lighthearted. Quark opened (or assumed ownership of) the bar some time prior to 2363, during the latter years of the Cardassian Occupation of Bajor, when the station was under Cardassian control and was known as "Terok Nor". Under the command of Gul Dukat, the station operated as a refinery for uridium ore and was populated by Bajorans enslaved in the ore processing center and their arrogant Cardassian overseers. While the Bajorans existed in squalor in a ghetto zone on the Promenade, the Cardassian soldiers laughed, gambled, drank and lauded it up in the bar and holosuites at Quark's.

When another bar and gaming facility, Club Martus, opened in 2370, Quark claimed to have had an agreement with the Cardassians stating that all gambling on the station was to take place at Quark's. Commander Sisko, station commander, did not recognize such a monopolistic agreement, stating that a few bribes to the Cardassians did not constitute an agreement. (DS9: "Rivals")

While the station was under Cardassian supervision, Quark did what he could to earn a profit, but was not blind to the plight of those around him. He sometimes hired Bajorans to perform menial tasks for a few slips of latinum, and sold black market goods to those who could pay. He was known to put a little extra into food parcels and was even described by Vaatrik Pallra (a Bajoran woman who lived on Terok Nor) as kind.

Old adversaries Quark and Odo first met in Quark's in 2365. (DS9: "Emissary") Odo questioned Quark about an alibi that he had been paid to provide by Kira Nerys, who was at that time part of the Bajoran Resistance. After failing to tempt Odo into buying a drink or spending some time in the holosuites, Quark – realizing that this was the shapeshifter he had heard about from the Cardassians – tried to convince the Constable to perform the Cardassian neck trick for the entertainment of the bar's patrons. (DS9: "Necessary Evil", "Profit and Loss", "Things Past")

Following an accident in 2373, Sisko, Odo, Garak and Dax were drawn into a telepathically mediated version of the Great Link, in which they relived events from Odo's memory of life on Terok Nor in 2366. In the shared vision, Sisko, Odo and Garak spent a day working as low-paid Bajoran cleaners in Quark's. (DS9: "Things Past")

In 2369, the Cardassians withdrew from Bajor and Terok Nor was ransacked, stripped of anything valuable, and then abandoned. Four Promenade merchants were killed during the carnage and, fearful that the change in government on the planet below would put them in danger, Quark and his staff packed up their belongings and prepared to leave. (DS9: "Emissary")

Federation control[]

"How could I possibly operate my establishment under Starfleet rules of conduct?"
– Quark, 2369 ("Emissary")

In the aftermath of the Cardassian withdrawal, the Bajoran Provisional Government invited Starfleet to take over administration of the station. Desperately in need of a way to bind the station's remaining inhabitants together and transform it from a place of suffering and slavery into one of peace and prosperity, new station commander Benjamin Sisko persuaded Quark to stay and re-open the bar, effectively becoming a community leader. Sisko had Nog in custody at the time for looting on the damaged Promenade and used the Ferengi tradition of plea bargaining to negotiate co-operation from Quark in exchange for Nog's release. Quark's duly re-opened and soon filled the Promenade with the sound of laughter and music; the newly christened "Deep Space 9" had found its heart. (DS9: "Emissary")

Quark's commercial

Quark's advertisement

The bar and its proprietor soon became accustomed to life under Starfleet governance, though Quark did sometimes try to bend the rules. In 2372, he used an encryption program to bypass the access protocols on the station's computer monitors so that he could use them to display animated advertisements for the bar. However, the program also spilled to the USS Defiant, causing its replicators to produce beverages in "Quark's"-themed mugs (which also sounded out the animated advertisements), much to Lieutenant Commander Worf's vexation. (DS9: "The Quickening")

Quark's branded mug

A replicated mug with Quark's advertisement

The lease on Quark's was held by the Federation, but they did not charge Quark any rent, nor did they ask him to reimburse them for the cost of maintenance or the drain on the station's power supply. During the strike organized by Rom's Guild of Restaurant and Casino Employees in 2372, Captain Sisko threatened to bill Quark for five years' worth of these outstanding charges unless he agreed to talk to his brother and hammer out an agreement. (DS9: "Bar Association")

Despite the occasional run-ins with authority, Quark's was an integral and successful part of Deep Space 9. Quark himself even celebrated when Bajor's petition to join the Federation was accepted in 2373, and a celebration was held in the bar. Quark expected Bajor's admittance to the Federation to be good for business, predicting sales of root beer to increase fivefold and the bar to be "busier than an Alvanian beehive." (DS9: "Rapture")

Troubled waters[]

Quark's infested with tribbles

"Tribbled" waters for Quark in 2373

"First it was the Cardassians. Then it was the Dominion. Now it's the Klingons! How's a Ferengi supposed to make an honest living in a place like this?!"

- Quark, 2372 (DS9: "The Way of the Warrior")

Navigating the waters of the Great Material Continuum can be difficult, and Quark's went through its share of turbulent times.

Business was disrupted by occasional infestations of voles and tribbles, and by the need for the station's engineering crew to make repairs. (DS9: "Ferengi Love Songs", "Trials and Tribble-ations", "Treachery, Faith and the Great River") More serious disruptions were experienced in 2370 during mass evacuations triggered by a siege by the Bajoran Alliance for Global Unity and later a violent plasma storm (DS9: "The Siege", "Invasive Procedures"), and in 2372 when the station was attacked by Klingon forces. (DS9: "The Way of the Warrior")

A rival gambling establishment, Club Martus, was opened by El-Aurian Martus Mazur in 2370, causing Quark's to lose a good number of its customers; Rom even defected to work in the new club. However, the club was shut down when alien gambling devices being used there wreaked havoc on the station. After Mazur was arrested for swindling an elderly couple, Quark agreed to pay his bail on condition that he leave the station and never return. (DS9: "Rivals")

The Bajoran Time of Cleansing, a month-long ritual of abstention from worldly pleasures practiced by the Bajoran people, was a particularly difficult time at Quark's. In 2372, the strain on the bar's profits was so great that Quark decided to cut the staff's pay. This act triggered the formation of the Guild of Restaurant and Casino Employees, and the ensuing strike caused havoc for Quark (for more information see Staff, above).

Quark's bar FCA ban Body Parts

The bar, stripped and empty, after liquidation by the FCA

In late 2372, Quark broke a contract with Liquidator Brunt and in the process violated Ferengi law. In response, the Ferengi Commerce Authority revoked Quark's Ferengi business license, seized all of his assets, and stripped the bar bare. On the brink of ruin, Quark was rescued by the one thing the FCA couldn't take away from him – his friends on the station. Dax, Bashir, Sisko, Morn and even Odo donated and loaned glasses, drinks and furniture so that the bar could be reopened. (DS9: "Body Parts")

Quark was evidently able to use the donations of his friends to rekindle enough business to obtain exact replacements of all of the furniture, fixtures and fittings that had been removed by the FCA, as the bar had returned to its familiar appearance by the next time it was seen (in Season 5's "Apocalypse Rising").

Business continued, though Quark was banned from trading or working with any other Ferengi. The waiters were replaced by members of other species including Bolians and Yridians, and FCA notices were displayed by the main entrance to inform all visitors of the ban. (DS9: "Apocalypse Rising", et al.) After months of difficult trading under the ban, and when almost every asset he possessed had been wiped out, Quark began to work with a weapons dealer named Hagath at the suggestion of his cousin Gaila. Quark displayed holographic recreations of weapons in the bar's holosuites and entertained Hagath's clients, earning enough latinum to repay all of his debts. However, business in the bar suffered terribly as Quark's customers learnt of what he was doing. Swayed by his conscience, Quark eventually betrayed Hagath and stepped out of the arms business, after which custom at the bar began to return to normal. (DS9: "Business as Usual") Quark's Ferengi business license was eventually reinstated in late 2373, after he assisted Brunt in a scheme to keep his mother, Ishka, away from Grand Nagus Zek. (DS9: "Ferengi Love Songs")

During the Second Battle of Deep Space 9 at the end of 2373, Starfleet withdrew from the station, and it was abandoned to the Dominion. (DS9: "Call to Arms") The station reverted to its Cardassian designation of Terok Nor and remained under Cardassian-Dominion occupation for around five months. Although Quark's was stripped of root beer and stocked up with yamok sauce and kanar, it remained open and was relatively unaffected by the change in administration. Rom returned to his role of Assistant Manager of Policy and Clientele as a cover while he committed acts of sabotage against the Dominion. Damar became a regular customer at the bar, and Quark plied him with kanar and then passed information, which he let slip while drunk, to a resistance movement formed by Kira Nerys. The bar was heavily damaged during a massive brawl between Cardassian and Jem'Hadar soldiers, triggered by the machinations of the resistance. Starfleet eventually took back the station in 2374, and old regulars Miles O'Brien and Julian Bashir booked a holosuite almost the minute they set foot back on the station. (DS9: "A Time to Stand"–"Sacrifice of Angels")

Gatherings and celebrations[]

Quark's decorated for Worf and Jadzia's wedding - You Are Cordially Invited

Quark's decorated for Worf and Jadzia's wedding

"We are not getting married in this bar!"

- Worf, overruled, 2374 (DS9: "You Are Cordially Invited")

Quark's hosted a number of gatherings over the years. In 2369, the bar was closed temporarily while it played host to an extradition hearing for Jadzia Dax after the Dax symbiont was accused of murder; Quark was coerced into surrendering the bar by Odo, who threatened to enforce Bajoran regulations that would mean moving a wall by five meters, closing the holosuites and moving the bar counter unless Quark complied. (DS9: "Dax") Later the same year, a funeral service was held for Zek in the bar after the Nagus faked his own death; similarly, a memorial service was also held in the bar after Morn faked his own death in 2374. (DS9: "The Nagus", "Who Mourns for Morn?") Several auctions were held in Quark's, (DS9: "Q-Less", "In the Cards") and Nog sold his boyhood treasures there prior to his departure for Starfleet Academy in 2372. (DS9: "Little Green Men")

Quark threw a party in the bar for Odo and Lwaxana Troi following their marriage of convenience in 2372, (DS9: "The Muse") and a celebratory gathering following the acceptance of Bajor's petition to join the Federation in 2373. (DS9: "Rapture") Worf's bachelor party was staged in the holosuites over four days in 2374, followed by the wedding ceremony of Worf and Jadzia in the bar below. (DS9: "You Are Cordially Invited") Impromptu baseball team the Niners celebrated in Quark's following their match against the Logicians in 2375, (DS9: "Take Me Out to the Holosuite") and later that year a party to mark the end of the war and bid farewell to several of the senior staff was held in Vic's lounge in the holosuites. (DS9: "What You Leave Behind")

The last outpost[]

Rom becomes Nagus in The Dogs of War

Rom becomes Grand Nagus

"The line has to be drawn here. This far, and no further!"

- Quark, 2375 (DS9: "The Dogs of War")

During the time that Quark spent tending the bar, change was rife on Ferenginar. Under the direction of Ishka, Grand Nagus Zek instituted a raft of reforms that changed Ferengi society, including progressive income tax, wage subsidies for the poor, retirement benefits for the aged, labor rights, health care, rights for females, the outlawing of monopolies, tough environmental regulations, and a Congress of Economic Advisors with almost equal power to the Nagus. Quark was horrified to learn of the changes, and when he mistakenly believed that Zek planned to name him the next Nagus in 2375 he decided to turn down the job. When it turned out that Zek would actually be succeeded by Rom, Quark declared that his brother was the perfect Nagus for this new Ferenginar.

Although it was his own family that had instigated (and presided over) the death of the Ferenginar Quark had known and loved, he refused to play any part in it. Ordering M'Pella to rig the Dabo table and Broik to water down the drinks, Quark proclaimed that his bar would be the last outpost of what made Ferenginar great – the unrelenting lust for profit. (DS9: "The Dogs of War")

Franchise[]

Quark's eventually became a franchise with twenty-one locations across the Alpha Quadrant by 2381, including on Qualor II and Starbase 25. Another Quark's franchise was located in Stardust City in 2399. In addition to full-sized locations, Quark had also opened the smaller Quark's Express with the Bolians. Quark had additionally traded on his newfound fame by incorporating a gift shop within his bar, as well as offering to take selfies and autographs with tourists for a nominal fee. (LD: "We'll Always Have Tom Paris", "An Embarrassment Of Dooplers", "Hear All, Trust Nothing"; PIC: "Stardust City Rag")

The key to the success of Quark's was the Quark 2000, an advanced replicator that Quark had programmed personally to give his refreshments a "special zing". The replicator was in fact based on a Karemma replicator that Quark had "borrowed" some years earlier, which was exposed when the Karemma visited Deep Space 9 for trade talks in 2381. Captain Carol Freeman of the USS Cerritos was able to broker a deal by which the Karemma would receive 76% of the Quark's franchise profits, in exchange for allowing Quark to stay out of prison, much to Quark's dismay. (LD: "Hear All, Trust Nothing")

In addition, Quark opened other businesses under his name, such as "Uncle Quark's Youth Casino" and "Quark's Starfleet Experience Bar & Grill" (LD: "Parth Ferengi's Heart Place")

Appendices[]

Background information[]

Quark's mural

The mural

Set[]

Quark's concept art

Concept art, from 1992

Quark's second level entrance unfinished

The unfinished Promenade of Season 1, with no second-level entrance to Quark's

Quark's was the multi-level centerpiece of the massive Promenade set on Paramount Stage 17, a permanent set that occupied the entire sound stage for all seven years of filming for Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. In the series production "bible" written by executive producers Rick Berman and Michael Piller during development of the series in 1992, Quark's was described as follows: "The interstellar place to meet and drink. A dramatic three-story set featuring exotic beverages from around the galaxy, "honest" gambling, and the infamous sexual holosuites upstairs." The holosuites became so "infamous", in fact, that publicists for the show – concerned about Star Trek's reputation – clamped down on the practice of referring to them as "sexual", instructing writers for the series not to do so. (The Making of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine [page number?edit])

David Livingston explained that the set for Quark's was very different to the Ten Forward set. "It's a lot more complicated and difficult to shoot in," he said. (Cinefantastique, Vol. 23, No. 6, p. 25)

The second-level entrance to Quark's was not seen during the show's first season, as it had yet to be built. That side of the Promenade set's upper level was not finished until the hiatus between the first and second seasons, during which the production team added extra width to the upper-level walkways and created the second level entrance to Quark's where previously there had been only a blank gray wall. (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion (p. 73)) The change was first apparent in the second season episode "Rules of Acquisition", in a scene in which Grand Nagus Zek sat at a table near the second level entrance in a position where, in the first season, there had not even been a floor. The blank unfinished wall can be seen on screen in several first season episodes, most prominently in "Babel" and "If Wishes Were Horses".

The replicators behind the bar were not present in the first few episodes of Season 1, making their first appearance in "Babel" – an episode whose storyline specifically required them. They remained in place for the rest of the series' run, except for when the set was redressed for the Terok Nor flashback sequences of "Necessary Evil" when the replicators were removed, and the characteristic mural was replaced with a black banner bearing the symbol of the Cardassian Union. For the Terok Nor sequences of "Things Past", the mural was again replaced with the black banner and Cardassian Union symbol, but the replicators were left in place.

The set was redressed for its appearances in the mirror universe episodes "Crossover" and "Shattered Mirror". On these occasions, the shelves behind the bar were backlit in green and red instead of the usual white and the mural was replaced with a black banner bearing the symbol of the mirror universe Klingon-Cardassian Alliance.

Star Trek archivist Penny Juday examined some of the props used in Quark's in a special feature entitled "Secrets of Quark's Bar" on the DS9 Season 1 DVD, including the regularly seen square glasses, which were actually candle holders turned upside-down.

The final dialogue of the series, in finale "What You Leave Behind", was spoken by Quark to Morn at the bar, before the closing sequence panning out from the upper level of the Promenade through one of the windows into space.

Name[]

Quark's was referred to as "Quark's Place" in early development and pre-production material, including in the internal series production "bible". (The Making of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine [page number?edit]) On the Promenade directory set decoration, it was listed as "Quark's Bar". (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion (p. 13)) However, it was referred to consistently in the scripts simply as "Quark's", (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion - A Series Guide and Script Library) and this practice was maintained in spoken dialogue on screen. The full title was originally "Quark's Bar and Holding Company", referred to as such in "Bar Association", but by "Profit and Lace" the full title was, as spoken by Quark, "Quark's Bar, Grill, Gaming House and Holosuite Arcade".

A scene in the script but not in the final episode of "The Sound of Her Voice" had a frustrated Quark musing that he should rename the bar "Cursed Quark's".

Outside Star Trek: Deep Space Nine[]

Quark's from The Fallen

Quark's, rendered for the video game Star Trek: Deep Space Nine - The Fallen

As well as regular appearances in Deep Space Nine novels and fan fiction, the bar was seen in the pilot episode of Star Trek: Voyager, "Caretaker", along with cameo appearances by Armin Shimerman as Quark, Mark Allen Shepherd as Morn, and David B. Levinson as the waiter Broik.

The Promenade and Quark's were rendered as a detailed, fully three-dimensional environment for the video game Star Trek: Deep Space Nine - The Fallen, with the player free to run around the first and second levels of Quark's and the rest of the Promenade as seen on the TV series. Quark was present and could be interacted with (voiced by Armin Shimerman himself), and Rom (in his Bajoran engineering crew uniform) and Morn could also be seen (both non-interactive).

Quark's also provided a natural template for the bar and restaurant at Star Trek: The Experience at the Las Vegas Hilton Hotel. The restaurant was known as "Quark's Bar and Restaurant" and served several dishes and drinks named after those mentioned on the series before it closed in September of 2008, including the steaming fishbowl-like "warp core breach".

Apocrypha[]

In the Deep Space Nine relaunch novels, Quark faced ruin and the loss of the bar as Bajor prepared to join the Federation and its moneyless society. Rom, as Grand Nagus, opened diplomatic relations between Ferenginar and Bajor and made Quark's the Ferengi embassy. Since this made Quark's technically Ferengi – rather than Federation – territory, Quark was able to keep his bar running and continue to charge latinum for the services it provided (although Rom naturally avoided giving Quark diplomatic immunity to ensure that he wouldn't go too far). After the station is destroyed in Plagues of Night, Quark briefly opens a new establishment on Bajor until the new station is constructed, leaving the Bajoran bar in the hands of a former Dabo girl while relocating to the new DS9, the new bar opening a few days before the official opening of the station.

The Deep Space Nine novel trilogy Millennium revealed that the large mural in Quark's was installed by Gul Dukat during his time as prefect of Terok Nor during the Cardassian Occupation of Bajor. Dukat was under the impression that it was a painting of a Tholian admiral, but according to Rom it actually depicted a Tellarite phallus. Quark and Rom jokingly toasted the mural and addressed it as "admiral".

Quark's can be visited in the game Star Trek Online, complete with a Dabo table (with a holographic Leeta as the Dabo girl, a product of Quark Enterprises) where players can earn latinum to buy cosmetic holographic emitters for both themselves and their ships. The bar was run by a Ferengi named Hadron until the "Victory is Life" expansion released in June 2018, at which point Quark himself returns to the bar. By this time incredibly wealthy and owning his own moon (much like his cousin Gaila had), Quark mentions possibly opening a franchise, with "a Quark's in every quadrant." The advertising jingle from "The Quickening" occasionally plays on a monitor on the outside-facing counter behind the bar.

According to the Star Trek: Terok Nor novel Dawn of the Eagles, Quark used the latinum left to him by his father Keldar to open the bar in 2360.

External link[]

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