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Bars where Pete has had a Drink (5,608 bars; 1,754 bars in Seattle) - Click titles below for Lists:


Bars where Pete has had a drink

Tuesday, November 28, 2017

Pacific Fisherman Shipyard, Seattle, WA - 11/27/2017

Pacific Fisherman Shipyard, Seattle, WA
The Pacific Fisherman Shipyard is a historic part of Ballard and Seattle. "Pacific Fishermen Shipyard was founded in 1946 by 400 Norwegian-heritage fishermen and their wives who plunked down $300 each to buy the old Ballard Marine Railway, which had been in operation since 1872, starting as the T.W. Lake Shipyard....  Ever since 1872, this has been a shipyard. It built sternwheelers for [early Seattle entrepreneur] Joshua Green, built the world’s largest tug in 1925 for Hawaiian Tug & Barge, went on to build minesweepers during the [Second World] war, one of which became Jacques Cousteau’s Calypso and another John Wayne’s Wild Goose. After the war, it built smaller seiners and then progressed to building crab boats for the Bering Sea. Today, we are primarily a repair yard with about 70 employees at our peak times. About 55 to 60 are union employees in five trades: machinists, shipwrights, boilermakers, dry dock crew and electricians. About 50 to 60 percent of our work is on fishing boats, but we are also the dry-dock agent for Victoria Clipper and many of the tugboats around Seattle." (Seattle Business Magazine)

Pacific Fisherman Shipyard, Seattle, WA
But what you may not have realized, if you never wandered down from the corner of NW Market and Shilshole Ave and into the shipyard lot, is that the business also holds a large and growing amount of old Ballard business iconic signage -- a sort of private MOHAI on Salmon Bay, or perhaps a slightly different version of Gary Blevins' Sit-N-Bull in Clallam County, but with more emphasis on the exteriors.

John “Doug” Dixon, general manager, joined Pacific Fishermen in 2001. Dismayed as gentrification and other changes closed cherished hangouts, Doug started obtaining old signs and fixtures from the joints -- some purchased, some free at the request of owners (who, unlike Doug, didn't have a crane handy), and some by slightly more furtive means. The old Viking Tavern, the Valhalla, the Copper Gate, Louie's, Ivars, Snoose Junction, Ponti, the People's Pub, the Yankee Diner -- they're all here, largely out of sight, but in a sense still home in historic maritime Ballard.






5351 24th Ave NW, Seattle, WA 98107 - (206) 784-2562
Est. 1946
Web site: pacificfishermen.com - facebook
Articles: westseattleherald - seattlebusinessmag 

Sunday, November 26, 2017

#2579 - Mary Todd's Workers Bar, Astoria, OR - 7/14/2014

Mary Todd's Workers Bar and Grill, Astoria, OR
Update: The Daily Astorian reports that effective Sep 13, 2017, Mary Todd agreed to sell the Workers Bar to Diana Kirk, Astorian resident and author of "Licking Flames: Tales of Half-Assed Hussy." It sounds like it is in good hands.


The Workers Bar, says Mary Todd, has been around as "The Workers" something or other since 1923, i.e. ten years before prohibition ended. Since 1966 its long-time location in the historic Uniontown district has been in the shadows of the Astoria-Megler Bridge, the longest truss bridge in North America, spanning the Columbia River from Oregon to Washington state. The Workers Bar features the all elements of true dive bar -- very evident age, a collection of bric-a-brac obviously acculated over many years and portending many stories, cheap and strong drinks, and old geezers.

Mary Todd's Workers Bar and Grill, Astoria, OR
The maritime and working class themes are for real, which is not to say that the joint doesn't also attract a few artists and hipsters. In addition to it's ramshackle, working class theme, the bar is locally known for its "Yuccas" (a locally popular cocktail of vodka, lemon juice, and simple syrup) and for "meat bingo," wherein the prizes are, well, meat.

Mary Todd owned the place from 1990 to 1994, then purchased it again in 1997. She lives in one of five apartments in the two-story building, with an empty retail space adjacent to the bar. Mary's been on the wagon for the last several years, but shares some of the history of the place as she smokes near the fire pit in the beer garden out back, as cars roar across the bridge and trucks rumble down Marine Drive. Just the personality of Mary herself might serve to make this one of the better dives in the area, but the personality of the place, with its fading exterior, the impasto painting of bar regulars, the tributes to regulars passed away, the bras hanging from the ceiling fans, and the elements mentioned above, emphatically clinches the case.

Mary Todd
Mary Todd's Workers Bar & Grill, Astoria, OR

Postscript: If you are visiting the Workers Bar, check out the Triangle Tavern across the street, which has also been around in some form since the early 1920s.


281 W Marine Dr, Astoria, OR 97103 - (503) 338-7291                   
Est. 1923 (date first a bar unknown)
Web site: facebook
Reviews: dailyastorian - astoriaoregondailyphoto - outdoorlife - yelp - tripadvisor   

Saturday, November 25, 2017

#2578 - Voodoo Room, Astoria, OR - 7/14/2014

Columbian Theater and Voodoo Room, Astoria, OR
Astoria Oregon's Voodoo Room is a small, dark and funky New Orleans themed music venue and bar incongruously connected to the Columbian Theater and Columbian Cafe. There are only a small number of seats but the lounge seems to host a vibrant music scene with a range of alternative and country bands. During the daytime it is a relaxing setting for dark spirituality, pizza, some good local beers and liquid spirits.



The Voodoo Room, Astoria, OR

Ashleigh, our bartender, who was moving to Seattle in 2 weeks
1102 Marine Dr, Astoria, OR 97103 - (503) 325-2233                    
Web site: facebook
Reviews: oregonlive - nytimes - yelp - tripadvisor 

Friday, November 24, 2017

#2577 - Snug Harbor Bar and Grill, Lincoln City, OR - 7/14/2014

Snug Harbor Bar and Grill, Lincoln City, WA
I love the Oregon coast and this is a classic Oregon coast joint. It doesn't feel old, with all the brightly glowing sealed fir and modern looking interior, but they claim that it is the "oldest continuously operated bar on the Oregon coast" and that it was established in 1927. Of course 1927 was in the middle of prohibition so that doesn't answer the question of how long the (licensed) bar has been running, and I'd love to confirm in some primary sources that it has been here with the "Snug Harbor" name for about that long.



In any case, today "the Snug" is as comfortable as a private beach cabin, with nice people, good clam chowder and food, a moderately lively atmosphere, and a nice garden patio on the roof for sunny days.


5001 SW Hwy 101, Lincoln City, OR 97367 - (541) 996-4976
Est. 1927 (restaurant)
Web site: snugharborbarandgrill.comfacebook
Reviews: letitpour (music) - oregoncoast - yelp - tripadvisor 

#2576 - Joe's Crab Shack, Vancouver, WA - 7/13/2014

This is Washington state's sole representative of the TGIFriday's of seafood, which peaked at 130 restaurants in 2014, before closing 40 locations in 2017. The decor is corporate kitch and the food is perfectly good, but order cocktails carefully, as most seem as if they were designed for the numerous preadolescents scampering about the place.

101 Columbia Way, Vancouver, WA 98661 - (360) 693-9211
Web site: facebook
Reviews: yelp - tripadvisor 

#2575 - A Roadside Attraction, Portland, OR - 7/12/2014

A Roadside Attraction, Portland, OR
Portland has a lot of interesting bars pop up in unexpected places, but this junkyard oasis of Americana is one of the most striking and one of my favorites. The food is pretty good, the drinks are pretty good, but it is the indoor and outdoor decor that feels like an extended, tranquil drug trip.


























1000 SE 12th Ave, Portland, OR 97214 - (503) 233-0743
Web site: facebook
Reviews: thrillist - yelp - barflymag - tripadvisor - pdxmonthly  

#2574 - Star Theater, Portland, OR - 7/11/2014

Originally opened as the Princess Theater in 1911, this venue soon became home to a number of mostly bawdy uses over the years, hosting burlesque acts and strippers from Tempest Storm to Courtney Love. For several years it was owned by director Gus Van Sant, and subsequently transformed into several different nightclubs. In 2011 the owners of Dante's took over, and it's now a concert venue and event space, with a nice outdoor courtyard area and a lot of character. (This visit was for the opening event of Portland's TikiKon 2014, which included a few acts much in the spirit of the history of the venue.)









13 NW 6th Ave, Portland, OR 97209                        
Est. 2011 (current venue), 1911 as Princess Theater
Previous bars at this location: Vivid, Level, Five Star Theater 
Web site: startheaterportland.comfacebook
Reviews: wikipediaportlandmercury - yelp - tripadvisor



#2573 - Ming Lounge, Republic Cafe, Portland, OR - 7/11/2014

Republic Cafe and Ming Lounge, Portland, OR
I do not know how long Portland's Republic Cafe has has a (licensed) bar, but the cafe  has been around since prohibition and in the 70s the bar extended to the entire current banquet room. (pdxmonthly) If you like lounges in Chinese restaurants this one is not to be missed.

The Republic Cafe, established in 1922, is the oldest Chinese restaurant in Portland, and the Ming Lounge, "the most beautiful seedy bar in Portland," (wweek) is the last remaining Chinese dive bar in this city's Chinatown. The romantic, scarlet glow of the cozy bar section is a perfect mood setter, the cafe serves classic American Chinese, and the lounge offers the cheap, heavy pours of a classic dive, but with a wider range of cocktails than the typical dive.

Ming Lounge, Portland, OR 





































222 NW 4th Ave, Portland, OR 97209 - (503) 226-4388                    b
Web site: republiccafeportland.comfacebook
Reviews: wweek - pdxmonthly - yelp - tripadvisor - barflymag

#2572 #S1268 - Cozy Nut Tavern, Seattle - 7/10/2014

With a small, dark space in my neighborhood featuring dioramas and taxidermy, I am immediately sold. To cement the deal, they have some nice and interesting cocktails, some good beers, and tasty small plates. The Cozy Nut was opened by four friends who have worked at places like Cha Cha and Bimbo's and at least some of home have some pretty nice craft skills. They poured the brass lamp frames, created the bar out of slices of telephone poles and covered the happily dark interior with wood from an old Duvall barn. One of them explained the organizing design theme as "Where would a a gnome hang out?" (seattletimes), and it looks like they nailed it.

The Cozy Nut Tavern, Seattle, WA














The Cozy Nut Tavern, Seattle, WA

























































































123 N 85th St, Seattle, WA 98103 - (206) 784-2240
Est. July 9, 2014 - Building constructed: 1949
Previous bars in this location: None known
Web site: facebook
Articles ranked: seattletimes - seattlemag - yelp - thrillist - king5 (video) - notfortourists - thestranger - eater - phinneywood - tripadvisor