#2005 - Sunnydale Tavern, Seatac - 1/13/2013

Sunnydale Tavern, SeaTac, WA

This is a congenial, historic tavern in an area that the old-timers still call "Sunnydale," most the locals call "Burien," and government officials call "the city of Seatac." It is full of antique, western bric-a-brac and devoted, regular customers (one I met drives from Auburn five days a week).  After 70+ years, the place closed down briefly in 2012, until two long-time customers purchased and revived it -- and God bless 'em for preserving a bar with such history and personality.

Sunnydale Tavern, SeaTac, WA

European settlement in the area is said to date back to 1860s, and the original name of "Sunnydale" is attributed settler Mick Kelly from that time. But it was only a decade later that Gottlieb Burian moved with his wife from Seattle, constructed a cabin on the southeast corner of what is now Lake Burien, and started the community that, like the lake, would bear his slightly misspelled name. The surrounding area was mostly Italian farmers before SeaTac airport was constructed in 1944, and I am told that the road outside the tavern remained brick into the 1960s.

Antique chastity belt at Sunnydale Tavern, SeaTac, WA

Various sources including Carl, the current owner date the bar back 70+ years to approximately 1939. However, this must have been in a different building, as King County tax records date the current structure to 1955. Art Kleitsch owned the tavern from 1949 to 1975, and it was he who introduced the western vintage and antique items in 1960.

A number of customers were very willing to tell me what they knew about the place and why they loved it. I talked to Matthias, Brent, and others, with one customer noting that it "feels like you're in Colorado or Pendleton."

Sunnydale Tavern, SeaTac, WA

Though it is hardly convenient to my home or work, this is definitely a bar I will return to.

14404 Des Moines Memorial Dr S, SeaTac, WA 98168 - (206) 246-2029
Est. 1939? - Building constructed: 1955 
Previous bars in this location: None known

Reviews: link - b-townblog - nwkaraokeguide - yelp

#2172 - Broadway Saloon, Beaverton, OR - 5/18/2013

So there's a historic district of Beaverton -- who knew? Anyway, the Broadway Saloon was installed in an old building here which used to house the Hunt and Fish Club, perhaps beginning shortly after prohibition. The bar is constructed from the altar of an old Catholic church in Newberg, and much of the seating is formed by the old pews. They serve standard cocktails and contemporary pub food.

I had a pleasant chat about Portland area dive bars with customer Ruth, the self-described "queen of the dive bars." This made up for the jackasses across the room, who had apparently just discovered the "Charlie bit me" video and thought it was just endlessly HEE-larious to then inject "Chaw-wee" into every other sentence. "Where'd you get that money?" "Chaw-wee! Ha Ha Ha Ha!" Were it the old western saloon days that the owners are trying to evoke, I think there would have been a shooting.

12434 SW Broadway St, Beaverton, OR 97005 - (503) 641-7474
Est. 1993
Previous bars in this location: Hunt and Fish Tavern
Web site: broadwaysaloon.com - facebook
Reviews: link - yelp - urbanspoon

#2004 - Outback Steakhouse, Tukwila - 1/13/2013

I do miss the Outback Steakhouse in my neighborhood ...

16510 Southcenter Parkway Tukwila, WA 98188 - (206) 575-9705
Web site: outback.com
Reviews: yelp

#2003 #S1101 - Pazzo's, Seattle - 1/11/2013

Pazzo's is an Eastlake remains a go-to Seattle location for calzones, despite its founder being sent up river for 14 years for smuggling huge amounts of marijuana after multiple previous drug convictions.

The Pazzo's location has hosted bars for some 80 years or so. A bar owned by Charles Haines was there shortly after prohibition ended, by at least 1935. A Cecil R. Fish owned the bar there by the late 30s, and by the mid 40s and into the 60s it was Quinn's Tavern. From the late 60s to the early 80s it was Skipper's Tavern, then briefly became J.C. Fox and Sons in the mid 80s.

2307 Eastlake Avenue East Seattle, WA 98102 - (206) 329-6558
Est. 1987 - Building constructed: 1924
Previous bars in this location: Quinn's Tavern, Skipper's Tavern, J.C. Fox and Sons
Web site: gopazzos.com - facebook
Reviews: seattlepi - thestranger - urbanspoon - yelp

#2002 - Palmers East, Redmond, WA - 1/10/2013

Medium-sized, fairly popular, neighborhood dive bar and favorite karaoke location.

7853 Leary Way Northeast Redmond, WA 98052 - (425) 867-3837
Est. 1956 - Building constructed 1910

Web site: facebook
Reviews: patch.com - urbanspoon - yelp
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#2001 - The Matador, Redmond, WA - 1/10/2013

Is anything the Matador guys do not instantly popular? This place has 246 yelp reviews. So there's lots of tequila here and fairly average Tex-Mex, but what drew me was that it is in the location of the old Bill Brown's Saloon. William Brown was mayor of Redmond from 1919 to 1948, and when he had this building constructed in 1913 its towering two stories made it the tallest building in Redmond. "When first built, the first floor held a saloon, barbershop, ice cream parlor, a drug store, and an undertaker. The second floor served as a community gathering place with a dance hall and a brothel." (redmond.gov)

Washington implemented state-wide prohibition beginning Jan 1, 1916 and the building subsequently held city hall, a dance studio, a hardware store and other various businesses, before the Matador moved in in 2007.

7824 Leary Way Northeast Redmond, WA 98052 - (425) 883-2855
Est. 2007 - Building constructed: 1913
Previous bars in this location: Bill Brown's Saloon
Web site: matadorseattle.com

#2000 #S1100 - Speckled and Drake, Seattle - 1/6/2013

Update: Speckled and Drake closed in 2022

"Do you have a cocktail menu?" I asked the bartender in this new place, in the space of the old Living Room, which used to serve some nice ones. The bartender/owner answered that he was working on one, explored my preferences, and served a nice variation on an Old Pal / Negroni sort of thing (the particulars I forget). From his answer I could tell he'd heard that question several times now, despite setting out to found a sort of instant dive, focused on a simple menu of blue collar beers and shots. I was the only one in the place at the time, and J.D. the owner was still working out some of details of the place. A bit later a friend joined me, and asked him if he had a cocktail menu.

J.D. (Justin Martinsen) grew up in the Seattle area (Roosevelt HS), then moved to Brooklyn and opened a bar called "duckduck" in Williamsburg in 1996. "Speckled" and "drake" are references to the female and male Mallard, and J.D. told The Stranger that the duck them came from his old haircut, which "flipped up in the back and looked like a duck's ass." The menu he does have is a list of boilermakers, various shots paired with blue collar beers, such as the "Fisherman's Friend" (Olympia and well whiskey) and the "Horny Woodsman" (Rainier and Woodford).

The woodwork, vintage bar, the various reclaimed signage and other items, and free Cheetohs reinforce the divey, garage-y feel of the place, and perhaps it will eventually carve out a Capitol Hill crowd that prefers the Oly and PBR. But until the word gets out, a new bar on Olive Way is going to come with certain expectations. As we sat there on a lazy Sunday evening, a few local gals popped in to check out the new place, taking in the new decor and the chalkboard of boilermaker combinations, and asked, "Do you have a cocktail menu?"

1355 E Olive Way, Seattle, WA 98122                            
Est. Dec 2012 - Building constructed: 1925
Previous bars in this location: The Living Room

Ranked articles: capitolhillseattle - thestranger - seattlemet - thrillist - yelp