#6518 - Beck-Ringland Tavern, North Bethlehem Township, PA - 4/11/2026

Beck-Ringland Tavern, Scenery Hill, PA

Update: The Beck-Ringland Tavern closed June 27, 2026.

In 1811, following an act under President Jefferson, the country started what became the National Road, starting in Cumberland Maryland, reaching Wheeling, West Virginia in August of 1818, with subsequent legislation eventually extending it through Ohio and Indiana to Vandalia, Illinois, some 70 miles east of St. Louis. The road replaced footpaths and wagon trails with a 66-foot wide "stone-surfaced, cambered roadway, masonry bridges, culverts and cast-iron mileposts that set standards for antebellum turnpikes." (Wikipedia) 

Of course privately and locally funded services followed along the highway's 620-mile path, with the most essential of all these being taverns, established approximately one every mile, where weary passengers of Conestoga wagons and stage coaches could rest and refresh, along with their horses and livestock. And as was the norm in colonial and early independent America, these taverns often became important community hubs, centers of politics, legal proceedings, trade, and sometimes armed rebellions.

Beck-Ringland Tavern, Scenery Hill, PA

Among these, in the community of Hillsboro, PA, later Scenery Hill, was a tavern erected and opened by bridge builder James Beck in 1827. The building was two stories, primarily brick, constructed in the rectangular Federal style, "like all National Road taverns" (NRHP), facing and directly adjacent to the National Road. There it offered travelers "lodging, meals at around 12.5 cents each, and stabling for horses in spacious yards typical of roadside inns." (grokipedia)

Beck ran it for only approximately one year, before selling to George Ringland, who would run it until 1840. From that point, a series of owners, many documented by Thomas Searight, ran the business to approximately the end of the century, as the mode of use evolved. 'In a nutshell, The National Road began transporting first wagons and then stagecoaches in the early-to-mid 1800s, and then took a pause when trains became popular, and then enjoyed a revival once the automobile became a thing, in the early 1900s.... the rise of the automobile restored it, and by 1926, most of the original National Road and its extensions were renamed “US Route 40."' (Cole) 

Beck-Ringland Tavern, Scenery Hill, PA 

It transitioned to a private residence probably sometime around the turn of the century, and by the next turn of century had fallen into considerable disrepair. Despite being designated a historic residential landmark and farmstead by the Washington County History & Landmarks Foundation, and being named to the National Register of Historic Places, by the early 21st century not only was the front porch rotting, walls crumbling and roof blown off, but it was threatened to be condemned with the crumbling central brick chimney presenting an ongoing health hazard by randomly sending bricks flying onto the street below.

It was to the great fortune of the place that an ambitious, history-minded local had had his eyes on the place since the 1990s, and was informed by a friend a couple decades later that "Your building is for sale."  Brian and Kathy Allen had not only taken on the prodigious challenge of restoring the old tavern, but would soon find another project as well, having spotted a 200-year-old cabin under multiple layers of subsequent siding and deciding to move it away from the busy highway to his 28-acre farm in Scenery Hill:

'The former field biologist is dissecting the cabin, log by log, and is determined to give it new life on his expanse in North Bethlehem Township. Allen plans to move all of the wood to his property within a month before beginning the rebuild, near a forested area on his land. “I want birds and deer at my front porch, not tanker trucks,” Allen said.'  (Observer-Reporter)

Brian was described as "a hydroponic farmer and much more. He also works with the Greater Washington County Food Bank, and is a baker of bread and cookies, daytime overseer of the kids and a renovator of buildings." (Observer-Reporter). He and Kathy swung a deal in 2014 to take over the old tavern and the hardware store next door. A while many special services needed to be hired during the project, the bulk of the work was done by Allen himself, with help from friends and his "team," of three young sons. Scrolling through tavern's Facebook site history provides some of the details of the immense project that would eventually result in the tavern opening in October of 2023.

The tavern grounds have seen considerable use as a sort of events center through several years preceding the completion of and official tavern opening. Prominently among these, at least for the historically minded, is probably becoming a key stop in the annual National Road Pike Days Festival. The stage and patio out back would seem to provide an especially appealing setting for these arts, musical, and historical events, in addition to the beautifully restored and redecorated rooms inside. He's also creating an even larger venue in the old hardware store next door, now Scenery Hill Brewing.

Beck-Ringland Tavern, Scenery Hill, PA
Owner Brian Allen

Of course due to its historical significance, the tavern was among the highest priorities in my bar to-do list from the moment I learned of it. But frankly I had no idea how great the interior looks now, as you can see from the photos much better than I could ever describe them. On my visit I was lucky enough to catch Brian, who was kind enough to fill in some of the stories and history of the tavern and its restoration. One anecdote I recall was workers finding under some old floorboards an old leather child's shoe between two cat skulls. Brian explained that through early European traditions and into the 1800s in the U.S., these shoes and cat remnants were buried in the walls and floors to ward off evil spirits and bring good fortune to the premises.

Mostly just seeing the place, but also talking to Brian and the bartender that day gave me a number of reasons to be coming back. Of course I need to bring Trista to see it, and it would be fun to swing through during the National Road Festival. In addition, I want to be seated by the fire on a cold winter day, and on the patio with music playing on a warm summer evening. In addition to seeing some of their live music on Saturdays, I'd like to drop in on their Open Mic night on Thursdays, and at some point sample the dinners coming out of their Beck-Ringland Tavern Scratch Kitchen.

Standard hours for the tavern are Thursdays and Fridays 4-10pm and Saturdays 2-10. Highly recommend.

'Sufficient is it for the present subject that the Cumberland Road was the most important "stream of human history" from Atlantic tide-water to the headwaters of the streams of the Mississippi. Its old taverns are, after the remnants of the historic roadbed and ponderous bridges, the most interesting "shells and fossils" cast up by this stream. This old route, chosen first by the buffalo and followed by red men and white men, will ever be the course of travel across the mountains." - Archer Butler Hubert, Historic Highways of America, Vol. 10

2206 E National Pike, Scenery Hill, PA 15360
Est. Oct 20, 2023 (1827 as a tavern) - Building constructed: 1827
Previous bar owners in this location: George Beck 1827, James Ringland (1828-1840), David Railly (1840-), James Noble, John Taylor, Henry Taylor, Jesse Core, William Robinson

Web sites: beckringlandtavern.com - Facebook - Instagram 
Articles: grokipedia - National Register of Historic Places - observer-reporter - observer-reporter - yelp - roadtrippers 

Historic Note: Hook Tavern, Capon Bridge, WV

Remains of Hook Tavern, Capon Bridge, WV
(Photo March 4, 2025)

Of all my posts under the rubric of "Alas, Too Late," there is no more tragic an entry than Hook Tavern. The National Register of Historic Places location, lies 150 miles southeast of the house we moved into in April of 2022, just east of the town of Capon Bridge in the New Hampshire County of West Virginia. I would find upon approaching it with my visiting parents in March of 2025 that it had been burned down by arson just six months after our move to the area. Indeed, I quickly realized that I had passed and even stopped to photograph the striking remains on an earlier trip, having no idea what they were. There is no plaque or outward sign of its history on the property.

From the National Register of Historic Places Registration Form I learned the following:

"It is estimated that the rear ell of the inn was constructed first, c.1765. The interior fireplace in this section, between the kitchen and dining area, is constructed massively with large pintle hooks for pots and pans. The end gable chimneys on the main, front section are exterior stone chimneys, suggesting they were constructed before the nineteenth century when brick chimneys grew in popularity (c.1790). Based on their style, the windows and porches appear to date to the 1840s, likely 1848 when Samuel Hook obtained ownership."

Hook Tavern, Capon Bridge, WV
(Pre-fire photo from the Registration Form
for the National Register of Historic Places)

"The inn is located in an area that George Washington originally surveyed between 1749 and 1752."

"While it is difficult to ascertain precisely when each section was built, the exterior trim indicates that it was fully completed by the 1840s. Shortly thereafter, in 1848, the building was conveyed to Samuel Hook and John B. Sherrard. Hook and Sherrard operated the inn as a full service hotel applying for their first license in 1848. In 1862 Hook reapplied alone for a license to operate the inn."

"Hook’s Tavern operated throughout the Civil War and was briefly used as a Confederate hospital for 80 sick soldiers under the command of J.A. Hunter. Severe weather forced Hunter to commandeer Hook’s Inn and his firewood on February 3, 1862."

"Hook’s Tavern was last refurbished in 1956, and closed a few years after that. The tavern remained in the

Hook family and in use until 1987. It has opened for special events occasionally since then."

It was a sad visit indeed.

Est. 1848 - Building constructed: c.1765

Articles: TheClio - National Register - wikipedia - historicnewhampshire

Historical Note: Lee Tuck Lounge, 134 Steuben, Pittsburgh, PA

Former Lee Tuck Lounge
Pittsburgh, PA

In the early evening of Sunday July 20, 1902, the wife and children of well known local politician, hotelier, and saloon keeper Jacob Haule, in crossing the street to their home, somehow fell into the path of an oncoming streetcar and was crushed beneath its wheels. Haule was one of a handful of persons running a saloon in this building in the West End Village neighborhood of Pittsburgh, originally laid out as the dry community of Temperanceville in 1837, before being annexed by the city of Pittsburgh in 1874.

Constructed by Christ Gundlefinger in 1891, the building some 2,000 feet south of the Ohio River has contained a saloon at least as early as 1892, and most of the time from that point to as recently as 2015, although you would never guess that from the ramshackle state of the building today.

Leona Tucker purchased the property in 1977, and ran what would become the longest running and last bar, and perhaps the last residents, to be hosted there during its 120 year history of serving drinks. (Leona passed away in 2003, and I do not know how long she ran the bar herself.) The property is currently for sale. At least in its latter years the bar featured black exotic dancers. It was the scene of another tragic death not long before it closed. On Oct 24, 2014 Ronnell Smith was shot and killed by Lonnie Monk and Anthony Jetter he was leaving the bar.

Christ Gundlefinger sought a liquor license even before his new building was finished, but it's not clear if he got one. In any case by the following year John Kalb ran the building, and with no other licensed house on the street in 1892, began operating a saloon on the main floor. From 1898 to 1910 he would be followed by saloon keepers Jacob Haule Jr., his wife Lena Haule briefly after Jacob passed away, a Mrs. H. Schinneller, and Leopold Von Hedemann. In October 1910 Hedemann transferred the liquor license to Herman J. Theil, whose long run as owner would last through prohibition and into the mid 1940s, and would tragically include the murder of his son John, killed in the bar during an attempted holdup.

After some 35+ years as the "H.J. Theil Cafe" and the "Herman Theil Tavern," the bar would be operated in the 1950s by Marie Schram as the "New Steuben Cafe" or "New Steuben Restaurant and Bar." In the 1970s it would be known as the West End Lounge, before fairly long run as the Lee Tuck Lounge, which it remained for almost 40 years.

Despite - and largely because of - its current state of disrepair, and due to its presence between two large, empty lots along our main route from our home to downtown Pittsburgh, I've probably passed this building a hundred times in the three years we've lived in the area - each time wondering about its history. Catching up with the parts of that history cited here only makes me wonder all the more about its stories from over the years.

Lee Tuck Lounge flier - Sep 15, 2014

134 Steuben St, Pittsburgh, PA 15220

Est. 1977 - Building constructed: 1891

Previous bars in this location: Herman Theil Tavern, New Steuben Cafe, West End Lounge

#2679 - Juniper, Boise, ID - 12/26/2014

Juniper on 8th, Boise, ID

This is just a swell place all around -- nice setting, great food, very good cocktails, and funny and efficient server Bri (and I am totally unbiased by the fact that she responded to my Krampus Christmas sweater with "I think you might be awesome").


211 North 8th Street, Boise, ID 83702 -  (208) 342-1142                              
Est. June 28, 2014
Web site: juniperon8th.com - facebook
Reviews: idahopreferred - yelp - tripadvisor 

#2416 #S1219 - Bar Cantinetta (Madison Valley), Seattle - 2/19/2014

Update: The Madison Valley location of Bar Cantinetta closed May 15, 2023; a new version opened on Capitol Hill in 2025.

This is the newest, smallest and most intimate of the four locations of this Seattle area group of Tuscan-style restaurants. This version seems if anything a bit more wine centric, and features the same very fine and creative Italian themed dishes.

2811 E Madison St, Seattle, WA 98112 - (206) 329-1501                    
2811 E. Madison
Est. Aug 30, 2013 - Building constructed: 1984
Previous bars in this location: None known
Web site: barcantinetta - facebook 
Articles ranked: culinaryfool - seattlemag - madisonparkblogger - madisonvalley.org - eater - seattlemet -  yelp - tripadvisor - thestranger - seattleweekly

#1995 #S1095 - The Whale Wins, Seattle - 12/29/2012

Update: The Whale Wins closed Oct 28, 2025.

After spending my last "Project K-Bar" visit at Agrodolce, my visit to The Whale Wins featured quite a few parallel experiences: Dinners at restaurants opened in late 2012 by highly regarded chefs (Renee Erickson/Maria Hines), whose homey first efforts (Boat Street Cafe/Tilth) and more splashy second restaurants (Walrus and Carpenter/Golden Beetle) I like a great deal, but after quite enjoying the cocktails in the new places, the food left me disappointed.

Now it seems like everybody loves the food at the Whale Wins, so you should not take me experience to heart, and I certainly plan on returning (if I can avoid being tempted into Joule next door, whose food was a much more thorough hit for me). But I started with the roasted radicchio with hazelnets, buttermilk poppyseed vinaigrette and buttery crumbs, which was far to drenched in the dressing and far too rich for me (that is not a complaint you often hear from me). Then the roasted Emerald Acre clams with thyme, lemon peel, chili flakes, and cream were surprisingly bland.

Whether I should really count this as a bar was a difficult call for me. The physical bar itself seemed more of a counter, and it seemed doubtful that there are any regulars who drop in just for a cocktail. But perhaps I was persuaded by how much I enjoyed the drinks, starting with a Normandy Old Fashioned (Calvados, black tea syrup, bitters). While it lacks any hint of the darkness I prefer in a bar, the staff and overall vibe were both very friendly. And I repeat that everyone else in the city seems delighted with their meals here ("To eat The Whale Wins' roasted chicken is to ask: Is this the best restaurant in Seattle?"), and I myself really enjoy Walrus; so either my particular visit or perhaps my particular tastebuds would appear to be the outlier here.

3506 Stone Way North Seattle, Washington 98103 - (206) 632-9425
Est. Oct 17, 2012 - Building constructed: 1964
Previous bars in this location: None
Web site: thewhalewins.com - facebook
Best articles: thestranger - seattleweekly - seattletimes - seattlebusinessmag - seriouseats - seattlemet - yelp

#1304 #S785 - Seatown Seabar, Seattle, WA - 11/30/2010

UPDATE: In 2025 the Seatown Seabar was refashioned by Tom Douglas into "Mr. Fish"

The Seatown Snack Bar (or Seabar and Rotisserie) is a less formal sister to Etta's next door.  It has some pretty good cocktails -- I had a Hootenanny (Barbancourt rum, Market Spice Tea syrup, and citrus) and Gotham (Bulliet, Punt e mes, and Fee's brothers bitters).     The only slightly unsettling features are the paintings on the bathroom walls, which may lead you to think you have accidentally stumbled into preschool daycare facility.

The ambiance is not one of a warm bar, but rather like an extension of the Pike Place Market, and it will benefit greatly from the return of summer weather (warm evenings, that is, when the throngs of tourists have died down).  Along with the drinks, I also had the single best sandwich I have ever tasted in my life.  But when you consider that it had crab and bacon and Tom Douglas, well obviously that's just not fair to all the other sandwiches.


tomdouglas.com - seattle weekly - seattle times -

#829 - Knee High, Seattle (Capitol Hill) - 6/9/2009

Update: Knee High Stocking Co. closed early December 2025

I'm not saying I can prove I personally caused this, but the start of Project K-Bar neatly coincided with an explosion in quality, craft cocktails and bars with personality, to the great benefit of the project and commensurate damage to my budget and liver. And now comes the speakeasy trend, and I must say it is pretty dang swell.

So on this night I went to Knee High, where you are greeted by only an unmarked door and a man standing outside to usher you in if you aknow where you're going. Genuine prohibition-era drink recipes are de rigueur for the speakeasy set, and apparently someone passed a regulation requiring all new bars to have fancy, art deco absinthe servers. (Like most people, I like virtually everything about absinthe -- the preparation rituals, the accoutrements, the mystery, the old ads -- pretty much everything except the actual absinthe.) Knee high is small and dark and filled with good drinks and pretty women, and I find that I can live with that sort of thing.

Try the: Hemingway

1356 Olive Way
seattle weekly - metblogs
New York Times on the speakeasy trend

#506 - Dukes - Alki, Seattle - 8/25/2006

Update: Dukes Alki closed April 3, 2025

Dependable seafood, a great evening on the upper patio with the calypso/reggae band playing and the smell of fire pits drifting in from the beach.

2516 Alki Avenue Southwest Seattle, Washington 98116 - (206) 937-6100
Est. 2001 - Building constructed: 1995
dukeschowderhouse.com