#2628 - Grumpy's, Garfield, WA - 9/14/2014

How could you not like a small town bar called Grumpy's? Grumpy's Tavern claims to be "The best place in Garfield to be for food and beer," and if you don't count the convenience store or assisted living facility, their case is unassailable. It's located in downtown Garfield, across from the meat locker. It's not a super rollicking place -- it's closes at 9pm every night, including Fridays and Saturdays. But it is a pleasant community gathering place, with wings, burgers, and other old school bar food to go with the cold beer. For the warmer months there is patio and expansive grassy beer garden out back.

Garfield Washington was founded in early 1880s and named after the recently assassinated president. The last census found the city has approximately 600 people, 97.3% of them white, and 0.2% of them African American (if you're good at math you know that means one black person). Whenever you find yourself in the parts of the Palouse, between Potlatch and Steptoe, you should consider swinging through Garfield and into Grumpy's for a cold one.

Grumpy's Tavern, Garfield, 

215 W Main St, Garfield, WA 99130 - (509) 635-1602                     
Previous bars in this location: Tote's Tavern
Web site: facebook   

#2627 - C & D's Tekoa Bar & Grill, Tekoa, WA - 9/14/2014

C & D's Tekoa Bar & Grill, Tekoa, WA

Tekoa ("TEE-koh") Washington sits just a mile from the Idaho border and straddling Hangman Creek. There are two restaurants in town but only one bar and that is C & D's Bar & Grill, AKA the Tekoa Bar and Grill. "C&D" stands for Cal and Donavon Chase, father and down who've run the place with their wives Cathy and Sara for the last severeal years. Before the Chases it was known as the Tekoa Tavern. And BTW, the sign out front announcing "Adam Passed!" was in reference to an employee passing the bar exam, not departing this mortal coil. C&D's serves up classic diner food with an emphasis on breakfast and burgers, including a comically big burger called "Donavon's Big Daddy."

132 N Crosby St, Tekoa, WA 99033 - (509) 284-3200                        
Web site: tekoabarandgrill.com - facebook
Reviews: yelp - tripadvisor 

#2626 - Fredneck's , Rockford, WA - 9/13/2014

If you are somehow capable of driving through a small rural town and NOT stopping at a place named something like "Fredneck's Saloon and Beanery," well, I just think we would have very little in common. A "beanery," of course, is the old timey name for a railroad eating house, although these days we now rarely refer to the female servers as "beanery queens." The old west false front is still there, but at today's beanery the Faro has been replaced by pull tabs, the cowboy hats by snapback baseball caps, and the mine and timber workers by aging bikers and insurance agents in cargo shorts. But I'll take the vestiges of the old west where I can get them, and it still feels a world away from Applebee's, so cheers to Fredneck's and God bless our beaneries. Make sure and stop here and have a drink.

Fredneck's Saloon & Beanery, Rockford, WA

Fredneck's Saloon & Beanery, Rockford, WA

130 W Emma St, Rockford, WA 99030 - (509) 291-3880
Web site: facebook 
Reviews: yelp - tripadvisor 

#2625 - Harvest Moon, Rockford, WA - 9/13/2014

"You need menus?"
"No, we're just drinking."
"Yay! I love drinking!"

"Can we see the wine list?"
"There's no wine list. This is Rockford."

As you might guess, we enjoyed our bartender/server, and though we were not eating this time, it looked like some pretty tasty versions of standard pub food come out of the kitchen. The Harvest Moon is a fairly sizable place, and a glance at their monthly schedule tells you that they host regular comedy nights, live music, hip hop nights, karaoke, pool tournaments and someone called an "Intuitive Consultant and Author of Universal Insight for Intuitive Readings."

The Harvest Moon, Rockford, WA

20 S 1st St, Rockford, WA 99030 - (509) 291-4313               
Web site: harvestmoonrockford.com - facebook
Reviews: yelp - tripadvisor - insiderpages

#2624 - Spangle Saloon, Spangle, WA - 9/13/2014

The Spangle Saloon, Spangle, WA

Spangle Washington is a two-bar town about five miles south of Spokane. It dropped to one bar in the summer of 2008 when the Spangle Saloon suffered serious fire damage. It reopened Jan 31, 2009 with a larger kitchen, higher ceilings, and historic area photos on the walls. I have little idea how long it has been around -- although it's been since at least 1995, and in a building constructed in 1918. Despite the name and distressed wood exterior, it is really more of a diner than a saloon, serving better than average classic pub food and particularly valued for its broasted chicken.

The Spangle Saloon, Spangle, WA

145 N Main St, Spangle, WA 99031 - (509) 245-3227
Est. ? - Building constructed: 1918
Web site: facebook
Articles ranked: theeastsiders509 - spokesman - yelp - tripadvisor - commercialmls   

#2623 - Brass Rail, Rosalia, WA - 9/13/2014

The Brass Rail, Rosalia, WA

A dozen years before the town of Rosalia, Washington was founded, the area was the scene of a battled declared as one of the last Native American victories over Europeans in the Washington Territory. "It is widely accepted that on May 6, 1858, Colonel Steptoe left Fort Walla Walla to reach Fort Colville. Accompanying him were the C, E, and H companies of the 1st Dragoons and the E company of the Ninth Infantry, along with five company officers, 152 enlisted men, and several Nez Perce scouts. Halfway to their destination, Steptoe and his troops realized their route took them into Coeur D’Alene tribal lands—an action in direct conflict of the Indian Treaty of 1855. On May 16, 1858 the tribes and military met and a battle ensued, lasting until the afternoon of the 17th." (sos.wa.gov)

The Brass Rail, Rosalia, WA

Accounts differ on how Col. Steptoe escaped the gathered Coeur D'Alenes, Yakimas, Spokanes, and more with losses of just 10 men and 30 horses. But the long term winners are clear enough, as the tribes were removed from the area with the 1871 Indian Appropriations Act, and Rosalia founded one year later. Today Rosalia, 96.5% white and 0.4% Native American in the last census, marks the event with their annual Battle Days celebration.

As the railroads and grain warehouses went up in the 1880s, Rosalia grew to almost a thousand residents, with two bars in town by the 1890s, a state that appears to have remained through most of the town's history until 2007, when the Longhorn Cafe burned down and left the Brass Rail as the only bar ever since. Most the businesses have died out in Rosalia, as it evolved into a bedroom community of Spokane and the other larger cities around it.

I do not know how old the Brass Rail is, nor the history of the 1905 building in which it sits. Today it is a lively bar and restaurant, with classic diner food, karaoke, darts, and trivia nights. It's a quite comfortable setting with conestoga wagon wheel chandeliers and a pleasantly random collection of bric-a-brac -- although at some point someone made some regretable decisions with a bucket of white paint, ranging from the minor abuses of painting random bricks to the epic tragedy of coating the antique Brunswick bar in the stuff. But it remains a good stop on an eastern Washington roadtrip.

This makes me want to cry ...

529 N Whitman Ave, Rosalia, WA 99170 - (509) 523-3601                    
Est. ? - Building constructed: 1905
Web site: facebook
Reviews: yelp - beststreetfairs - youtube (small town struggles video) 

#2622 - Rialto Tavern, St. John, WA - 9/13/2014

The Rialto Tavern, St. John, WA

The town of St. John, Washington, is located in eastern Washington, about 10 miles from the Idaho border, and along Highway 23 between Steptoe and Sprague. The Railto Tavern is the only bar in the town of about 500 residents, and one of two restaurants. It is inside an red brick building on Front Street, as the highway becomes, with a modest sign attached to the corrugated tin awning. I was told that it has been here since the 30s and been named the "Rialto" for at least 40 years. Ward and Kathy Pierce recently ran it for about 20 years, through this visit, before retiring, and Ward passed away in Dec. 2016. Kathy was our bartender for this visit, and she served up dive-style drinks and the most massive club sandwich I've ever seen -- the "Wardo's Sub."

The Rialto Tavern, St. John, WA

The Rialto is open for family dining until 6pm, and from the front door you can walk through the brighter diner portion in front to the more woody, dark, and bar-like rear portion. There you have more typical small town tavern decor -- hunting trophies, photos of local sports teams, and corporate beer paraphernalia, along with the sort of unique touches that mark a fine dive. For example there's an old wooden cabinet decorated with a mid-century nude pin-up and an index card listing the elevations of nearby communities. It gives every indicaiton of just the sort of community space you'd want in a small town like St. John.

The Wardo Sub, Rialto Tavern, St. John, WA

Locals chat outside the Rialto Tavern, St. John, WA

17 E Front St, St John, WA 99171 - (509) 648-3876
Previous bars in this location:  None known
Web site: facebook
Reviews: yelp 

#2621 - Sonny's Tavern, Washtucna, WA - 9/12/2014

Sonny's Tavern, Washtucna, WA

There's not a whole lot more to the town of Washtucna, Washington than Sonny's Tavern -- and what else there is can be listed on one sign as you enter town. The population is a little under 200 and slowly trending downward, as in so many other small, agricultural towns. But having such a small population doesn't mean that they don't have conflicts now and then, and bartender Nancy and local Michael talked about the night that Ronnie -- who may have had Altheimers or maybe not -- got crazy drunk and attacked her trying to twist her neck. She fell on Ronnie's gun, and after that the neighbors soon took his guns away -- at least for a spell. Later Ronnie got into an argument with his neighbor Larry Turner, soon returning in his car to Larry's house, accusing him of stealing his dog, and firing his shotgun at him. Larry returned fire with three shots from his .357 revolver and Ronnie was dead.

Inside Sonny's the scene is bright -- too brightly lit for a bar, in my view, but the owners have focused on creating a family restaurant atmosphere. Sonny's dates back to 1964, although it was briefly Frank's Tavern a few years ago before restoring the name. One of the highlights of the entire area is the broasted chicken at Sonny's. We didn't have dinner in this visit, but both the locals and tourists rave about it. They probably don't rave about the cocktails -- the drink choices are pretty limited -- but like I said, the owners have focused on the family restaurant portion of the business, and anyway, it's the only bar in town.

Washtucna, Washington

Down the road there's a house that's plainly been victimized too many times by theft. The chain link fence around the large yard now features several plywood signs that make it clear that Ronnie was not the only local who's ready to take justice into his own hands if he thinks someone is stealing from him. Just up Main Street from Sonny's there are several nice old buildings. Some of them seem to be holding up well, like the old, stone Bank of Whitman building, but many more are faded and crumbling -- as empty as the large grain silo on the edge to town. As for Sonny's, it is open until 8pm weeknights and 10pm on weekends, and after that, it's pretty much lights out in Washtucna.

Washtucna, Washington

250 Main St, Washtucna, WA 99371 - (509) 646-3314
Est. 1964
Previous bars in this location: Frank's Tavern
Web site: facebook
Reviews: yelp - tripadvisor 

#2620 - Rawhide Bar N Grill, Starbuck, WA - 9/12/2014

Rawhide Bar N Grill, Starbuck, WA

Just 15 miles from Palouse Falls in the southeast of Washington State is the town of Starbuck, population about 130, not far from Tucannon, Riparia and Joso, and no relation to the coffee corporation. The town was named after a railroad executive, and has basically been dwindling downward ever since around the turn of the century (that is, the turn of the last century). The traffic through down started dropping off in 1914 when the Lyons Ferry Bridge was built over the Snake River. In 1919 the town bank failed, and in 1956 the high school shut down. But from February 2011 to November 2015 there was one heck of a good old country honky tonk in town.

Mary Jo and Dan Sanderlin moved here from Colorado after visiting Starbuck to visit Dan's mom at her tackle shop. Mary Jo once ran the Sand Bar in Moses Lake, and the couple moved from jobs at a waste water treatment plant in Kalispell Montana, to a fish ladder in Thompson Falls, to laying pipe in Rifle, Colorado. They heard of a big empty building in town and decided to sell their ATVs to fund converting it into the Rawhide Bar N Grill. (Owner comments in Yelp) 

They are super friendly people and their joint was a lot of fun while it lasted. They had buckets of beer, lots of country dancing, and steaks rolling in off the barbecue grill. They had poker games, horse shoes outside, and an annual Redneck Games. It seemed like the perfect rural stop in a tiny, out of the way town, and it's sad to see it go.

211 Main St, Starbuck, WA 99359 - (509) 399-2222

Est. Feb 18, 2011
Previous bars in this location: None known
Web site: facebook
Reviews: yelp - tripadvisor