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Bars where Pete has had a Drink (5,974 bars; 1,754 bars in Seattle) - Click titles below for Lists:


Bars where Pete has had a drink

Sunday, April 06, 2014

#2171 - The Shire, Chehalis, WA - 5/17/2013

"We got lucky," the owner of The Shire told me, and indeed, for someone wanting to start a new bar and restaurant, what a swell thing to find one of the state's more historic bar spaces available and within your budget? While Lewis County tax records indicate the building dates back to 1920, I tend to think this is some kind of error or remodel date, and lean toward the history reported in various places, though not in any primary sources I have found, that the place was established as the Olympia Bar around 1903.

There is a grand Brunswick "Empire" model back bar, similar to models in BC MacDonalds in Chelan, Bottle and Bull in Kirkland, Engine House No. 9 in Tacoma, Kuhnle's Tavern in Marysville, and Maryhill Winery in Goldendale.

Today, The Shire is a relatively large place that serves some nice steaks, pastas, and seafood choices, and better than average cocktails. They host live music on Saturdays and karaoke on Fridays. The entire place is a nice nod to pre-prohibition saloons -- yes, they have barstools now, but it retains the old back bar and the capacious rectangle of space, with old photos on the walls. It's a nice stop if you are in the area seeking something a bit more formal than a quick bite for the road, or just want to have a cocktail and check out a historical spot.

465 NW Chehalis Ave, Chehalis, WA 98532 - (360) 748-3720
Est. Feb 2003 - Building constructed: 1903? 1920?
Previous bars in this location: Olympia Bar, Guido's
Web site: theshirebarandbistro.com - facebook
Reviews: yelp - urbanspoon

#2170 - Joe's Place, Bucoda, WA - 5/17/2013

"Joe's Place" was established in 1898 in Bucoda, near the Skookumchuck River, and it has been run by the family ever since. Settled in 1856 by Aaron Webster, Bucoda was originally established in 1856 as "Seatco" from the Coastal Salish word “Tsi-at-co,” meaning “devil” or “ghost place.” The original Joe's building burned down and was replaced with the current one in 1919. It is the only building left after a fire destroyed the rest of downtown Bucoda in 1930. The original walnut back bar was consumed in yet another fire during the 50s, but the matching original front counter remains.

Trap door that probably hid the hooch during prohibition,
Joe's Place, Bucoda, WA
Joe's was perhaps a working bar through prohibition, possibly taking advantage of the trap door in the floor behind the bar, which was also used in lieu of refrigeration. In any case, it seems likely that it resumed as a licenses bar very soon after prohibition, so I have guessed that the bar in the current building dates back to Dec. 1933. Joe died working behind the bar in 1937. The cafe and bar have been run by various groups of relatives ever since, with his great-granddaughter Ruth Wall buying out the last of the other relatives in 2004 to take sole ownership.
It was nice to see both the owners and locals taking an understandable pride in the history of Joe's, with various photographs and historical notes on the walls.  I chatted with customer Ray, who remembers sitting at the bar by the coal heater when he was seven. The few sources I have found tend to confirm the historical notes from the bar, with Thurston County tax records confirming that the current building was constructed in 1919, and city guides from 1907 and 1913 listing among Bucoda saloons one owned by Joseph Farrington.  Joe's is also said to have been the first bar in the country to serve Olympia Beer on tap, starting in 1889 and remaining the only brew on tap for many decades after. They now offer other beer selections, along with classic burgers, steaks, and American diner options.



118 S Main, Bucoda, WA 98530 - (360) 278-3599
Est. 1898/1938 - Building constructed: 1919
Previous bars in this location: None
Web site: joesplaceinc.com
Reviews: chronlineyelp

#2169 - Headquarters Tavern, Mineral, WA - 5/17/2013

Headquarters Tavern, Mineral, WA
The Headquarters Tavern is a little gem of a place in the tiny old mining and timber town of Mineral, Washington, now known for its fishing ("Mineral Lake, home of the 10 pound trout").  I have found virtually nothing on the history of the tavern in primary sources, but the sign over the door and understanding of the locals is that it has been around under that name since 1904. It certainly looks pleasantly old, and features a grand old back bar, into which any number of nails and hooks have been indelicately whacked.


Headquarters Tavern, Mineral, WA
The Headquarters boasts "the best pizza in town," and given that this is the only bar or restaurant in Mineral, I would not expect many challenges to that. Across the road, and sloping down toward the south banks of Mineral Lake is campground full of trailers and tents of fishermen. The headquarters hosts these and a few local characters. When I returned to my beer and barstool after a look around one an older fellow kindly informed me that "I didn't spit in yet." This fellow's name was Richard, though most people refer to him as "Crawdad," and we chatted about the area and the crustaceans he liked to eat.


The Headquarters offers most of the staples of a contemporary small town dive - pulltabs, karaoke, bingo, poker, Taco Tuesday, and generous, cheap pours. If it does indeed go back to 1904 under the same name, this would make it one of the dozen or so oldest bars in Washington state. In any case I would love to find any historical references or photos from previous decades.


Lion's Den Campground, on Mineral Lake,
across from the Headquarters Tavern

112 E Front St, Mineral, WA 98355 - (360) 492-3261
Est. 1904
Web site: headquarterstavern.com
Reviews: yelp

Saturday, April 05, 2014

#2168 - The Sidetrack Room, Elbe, WA - 5/17/2013

In the tiny community of Elbe, Washington, population 29, at the eastern foot of Alder Lake and in the shadow of Mt. Rainier, there is restaurant, lounge, and motel located in a collection of old train cars, including one of the larger caboose collections in North America. In 1987 Robert Thurston Jr., who'd previously managed the Flying Boots in Tacoma, established the bar and restaurant there, now called the Mount Rainier Railroad Dining Co., including the Side Track Room lounge. Robert passed away but his family still operates the place, selling classic diner food and classic dive bar drinks from the old cars -- some of which once hosted President Gerald Ford, or toured the country displaying "over 500 treasures of Americana." It now contains a little gift shop and a collection of gawdawful art prints.

Anyway, if you're in the area, you must make a stop here because, well, railroad cars.

The Jesus section of the large selection of bad art
prints at the Mount Rainier Railroad Dining Co.
54106 Mountain Highway East (SR-7), Elbe, WA 98355 - (360) 569-2500
Est. 1987 - Building constructed: 1910 and 1921 (railroad cars)
Previous bars in this location: None
Web site: rrdiner.comfacebook
Reviews: urbanspoon - yelp

Tuesday, April 01, 2014

#2167 - Pour House Grub and Pub, Eatonville, WA - 5/17/2013

Chatting with Tony, the current owner here, and he believes that there's been a bar here since 1935 and that the current building was constructed sometime around 1902. However, the Pierce County tax records say it was constructed in 1950. Yet this article and others on the same site appear to place a building there since around 1900, which housed a pool hall and then confectionary for several years in the early 20th century, was largely gutted in a 1923 fire, and became the Olympia Tavern shortly after the end of prohibition. If one looks at the back bar in the photo this article about a brewhaha shortly after prohibition, it looks to be the same distinctive bar top as is there today. And indeed I believe based on address information and descriptions from this site that the pool hall in the right of this circa 1900 photo is probably the same location (notwithstanding the difference in placement of windows from the c.1916  photo).

Thus I'm inclined to believe that there may be vestiges of a c.1900 pool hall in the current building, that it started serving beer apparently without a license after prohibition and into at least 1935. Prohibition would have been in effect in Eatonville at least by Jan 1, 1916, when state-wide prohibition took effect, and serving beer would have probably been legal as of April as of April 7, 1933, when the federal Beer and Wine Revenue Act took effect just ahead of the end of federal prohibition on liquor sales Dec 5.  Washington state's 1934 Steele Act codified state liquor law allowing counties and cities to choose to remain dry, and it does not seem very surprising that the state of affairs would have remained in something of a state of confusion in years immediately after the 21st amendment was ratified.

In any event, it's a pleasant joint that *looks* old, and Tony's owned the place for four years. Before that it was known as the Blue Moon Pub at least back to the early 2000s. It appears to have been the "Olympia Tavern" or some variation thereof (e.g. "Bob's Oly Tavern") for most of the years between prohibition and then. Tony pointed out some of the other bars in the area, leading us to yet another diversion to the town of Mineral, WA. This is the fourth "Pour House" in Washington in which I've had a drink (also Aberdeen, Bremerton, and a short-lived one in Seattle). This Pour House serves your pretty standard beer, liquor and pub food options, and makes for a very pleasant stop in downtown Eatonville.

Pour House building c.1916
(Photo via eatonvilletorainier.com)
It was also the location of one at least one colorful scene in the confusing years immediately after prohibition.

Olympia Tavern c.1933, current location of Pour House
(Photo via eatonvilletorainier.com)
119 Mashell Ave S, Eatonville, WA 98328 - (360) 832-4782
Est. 2009 - Building constructed: c.1900?
Previous bars in this location: Olympia Tavern, Bob's Oly Tavern, Blue Moon Pub
Web site: facebook
Reviews: yelp

Sunday, March 30, 2014

#2166 - Kapowsin Ale House and Grill, Kapowsin, WA - 5/17/2013

In the early part of the 20th century, with the Kapowsin Lumber Company operating on the north side of the lake, the population of Kapowsin was around 10,000.  It's now closer to 300, the mill long shut down, and just a few vestiges of a town remaining. Since 1959 the Kapowsin Tavern has been there, now the Kapowsin Ale House and Grill. It's a solid middle-of-nowhere bar, with years of oddball items collected on the walls, food that is good enough, hosting locals, fishermen and bikers. Apparently it is also the sort of place where if you get drunk and aim a gun at the bartender, you'll be taken out by someone chucking a pool ball at your head.



I was informed that this was a Christmas gift from a patron,
and that it is "a cartridge in a pear tree."  Kapowsin Ale House


14912 Kapowsin Hwy E, Kapowsin, WA - (360) 879-5333
Est. 1959 - Building constructed: 1959
Web site: facebook
Reviews: crankydaves - yelp - thenewstribune - tooie haugen

#2165 - Wagon Wheel Restaurant and Lounge, South Prairie, WA - 5/17/2013

It's 1:00pm on a Friday afternoon, and the back bar in the Wagon Wheel restaurant is rocking. It is near full, 15 to 20 people, which is enough to make it feel fairly packed in the tiny bar space behind the cafe in this town of less than 500 people. Some of the conversations are loud and rollicking. It's a working man's crowd, notwithstanding the number of people kicked back sipping beer in the middle of a weekday (blue collar white people a world away from the diverse, martini-glass toting hipsters in the stock image on their web site). One of the older patrons feels comfortable peppering his conversation with a kind of use of the n-word you're not likely to hear in a city bar.

It seems like a fairly typical small town dive, with a customers in baseball caps, plaid shirts and coveralls, mountain landscapes painted on a saw blade and a milk can, pulltabs and bingo nights, and an old west cowboy shootout painted on one the doors. Some posts on the Facebook page point out that back in the 70s the place was owned by Betty and Eldon Gadberry, and the performing "Gadberry Family" would play things like old Hank Williams tunes and Suzy Q. From the moment I passed the conestoga wagon wheels embedded in the flagstone out front, it all seemed to so perfectly fit the image of a quaint old timey cafe and dive bar that I was fairly surprised to see that current owner Donna regularly hosts punk shows by bands like Violent Occurrence, Americommies, and Judas Fucking Kryst. I'm reminded again that you can't really know a bar unless you visit it at least on one lazy afternoon and one busy weekend night.

I chat with Jean the bartender and customer Jeannie. One of them tells me that the place dates back to 1930, and indeed that's when the Pierce County tax records say the joint was constructed. Of course they would not have had a liquor license or openly operating bar at that time, but I'd guess the bar was added shortly after prohibition ended.

Maybe I'll come across more information on the bar portion some day. Or maybe I'll just come back for a night of Judas Fucking Kryst.

121 State Route 162 West, South Prairie, WA - (360) 897-9987             
Est. 1930s? - Building constructed: 1930
Web site: wagonwheelrestaurantandlounge.comfacebook
Reviews: bikerfriendlybar