#1977 #S1082 - Oak, Seattle - 11/19/2012

Beacon hill has had a nice addition of restaurants and bars over the last year and Oak is a nice part of that. It has a woody, mid-century interior, including a darkened back bar, where they serve some nice beers, reasonable cocktails, and homey sorts of foods made from high quality and local ingredients. It is owned by the folks behind Capitol Hill's Redwood, and while it is definitely similar in several ways, it's a bit more intimate -- perhaps more like Ballard's Hazelwood. It draws a pleasant crowd of locals, young parents and hipsters, and I had a nice chat and friendly service from bartender Don, who says things like "Geez Louise."

3019 Beacon Ave S, Seattle, WA 98144 - (206) 535-7070
Est. Oct 9, 2012 - Building constructed: 1910
Previous bars in this location: None known
Web site: facebook
Reviews: link - thrillist - fledglingsgourmet - beaconhill - thestranger

#1976 #S1081 - Baja Bistro, Seattle - 11/19/2012

What used to be Java Love expresso expanded next door into the Baja Bistro restaurant, which expanded into a tiny, attached bar. Baja is "officially" gay on Wednesdays, but fairly gay always. The bar opens at 3:00 and the restaurant workers were regularly checking in on RuPaul's All Stars on the bar TV. They serve some fairly good margaritas, fish tacos, and mole. The small bar and workers create a fun, intimate but casual vibe.

2414 Beacon Avenue South Seattle, WA 98144 - (206) 323-0953
Est. 2004 - Building constructed: 1964
Previous bars in this location: None known
Web site: facebook
Reviews: thestranger - seattletimes

#1975 - China City, Freeland, WA - 11/18/2012

China City is located in a large Victorian building constructed in a small town that was established as a socialist commune in 1900-1901. Believing communism to be unworkable at a small scale, the founders established a store in the "Rochdale" model, where anyone of any race or creed could buy into the central cooperative store and obtain five acres of land with a small down payment, pay the remainder with their share of dividends, and eventually profit with a portion going back to the store. Stock in the store could only be sold to other members and no one member could exceed 20 shares. "More correctly, Freeland was a gathering of like-minded radicals who sought to retain a socialist entity outside the confines of a regimented communal existence." ("Utopias on Puget Sound 1885-1915," Charles Pierce LeWarne)

Freeland lasted longer than most such communal experiments, but eventually improving economic opportunities enticed the most ambitious members away, and it slowly evolved away. Excepting the name, there are few evident signs of this past to the visitor today, and the grand Victorian building that houses China City and various offices upstairs stands in sharp contrast to the modest farms of the community's founding. But despite the ornate surroundings, the restaurant's offerings may live up to the old ideals of parity, serving very average American Chinese food and suburban bar cocktails.

1804 Scott Rd Freeland, WA 98249 - (360) 331-8899
Est. May 2002 - Building constructed: 1992
Previous bars in this location: Teddy's
Web site: chinacityrestaurant.com - facebook  
Reviews: examiner - yelp - tripadvisor - urbanspoon

#1974 - Freeland Cafe and Lounge, Freeland, WA - 11/18/2012

This little cafe evidently added the back bar sometime in the mid 2000s. It's very much a local place -- outsiders can tend to expect some funny looks in the bar.

1642 E Main St, Freeland, WA 98249 - (360) 331-9945
Web site: whidbey.com/freelandcafe
Reviews: yelp - tripadvisor - urbanspoon 

#1973 - Oak Harbor Tavern, Oak Harbor, WA - 11/18/2012

Oak Harbor Tavern, Oak Harbor, WA

Update: The Oak Harbor Tavern is now closed. Since the original post that follows, the owner sold the tavern to Kenneth Peplinski, who wasn't able to make the payments with the COVID-19 pandemic, and was eventually foreclosed upon. Mr. Peplinski took the contents of the interior, including the military memorabilia and the horse-shoe bar, and put them in storage with the intention of re-opening the bar at a new location. At this writing the original space remains vacant. (See Whidbey News Times)

The Oak Harbor Tavern is an unassuming little corner bar in the town of Oak Harbor on Washington state's Whidbey Island. It holds some interesting characters and habits -- e.g. when you come in the bartender hands you a pen and a piece of paper and asks you to track what you order. "Write 'em as you get 'em," said bartender Kelly, as she handed me a paper with "1 C" on it, marking the Corona I started out with. Kelly Beedle and her father have owned the Oak Harbor for about the last 20 years. The tavern has a lively and fairly hardcore live music schedule, and the bar here has been a hangout for navy personnel since the Whidbey Island Naval Air Base was constructed in 1942. The walls are peppered with memorabilia from various squadrons.

"Write 'em as you get 'em." -- Oak Harbor Tavern

But there is something much more remarkable about this little bar, at least for people with my sort of interests: In terms of a bar being a physical place that has hosted bars of changing names over the years, it is quite likely the oldest bar in the state of Washington -- and by some measure.  It is in a building that has held a bar, fairly continuously, since at least 1856.

Of course to answer the question of what is the oldest bar in the state requires you to make several fairly arbitrary decisions about what constitutes a single bar. I tend to lean toward a definition that the bar must have been run for all or virtually all of its history under an approximation of its current name and in its current building. This would make Merchants (est. 1890), in Seattle, and then The Brick (est. 1898), in Roslyn, the two oldest bars in the state. But another valid way to consider a "bar" is simply a place where a bar has operated fairly continuously (e.g. exceptions for prohibition) in one place, even through various name changes. Until a recent trip to Whidbey Island, I had been fairly confident in the assertions that by this definition the oldest bar in the state is Bickleton's Bluebird Inn, est. 1882.

Barrington store, 1850s (Photo courtesy Peggy Darst Townsdin)

The building that still houses the Oak Harbor Tavern appears to have been build circa 1852 (at the latest by 1856) by sea captain Edward Barrington, as a general store and saloon.  "Barrington and Charlie Phillips opened a trading post at Oak Harbor in the early 1850s because he did not want to paddle a canoe two days to Olympia for supplies."(HistoryLink)  At some point, according to Barrington's sons and daughter, their father's building was dragged across the street to its current location. Thus this is the state's oldest running bar space by at least 26 years. It took the name "Oak Harbor Tavern" in 1939 (previously Forner's Tavern).

Naval memorabilia at Oak Harbor Tavern

A primary source of information on the tavern and community is historical author Peggy Darst Townsdin, who is the great, great grand-daughter of Capt. Barrington. Ms. Townsdin provided information, newspaper clips, and photos of the old saloon. She notes that when the current false front of the tavern was temporarily removed for remodeling, it looked exactly like her photographs of the old Barrington store structure.

A back closet at the OHT offers a glimpse of original wood

A 1939 newspaper article documents a change from Forner's Tavern to the "Oak Harbor Tavern," as of Dec 16 of that year. New owner H.J. "Bert" Nunan invited the locals to explore the new annex in the remodeled bar, including a card room and a room with booths "for the convenience of ladies and gentlemen who do not wish to mingle at the bar."

The annex is not apparent now, perhaps simply the side that now contains a pool table, and no one seemed to be particularly reluctant to mingle at the bar. We chatted with Kelly, who generously showed us around, and a number of the patrons, including Brett, who grew up as a rare white kid in Rainier Valley, and went on to play jazz at Seattle area bars like Gabe's. Kelly knew a lot of the history of the old place, but didn't know exactly where it fit into the oldest bars in the state -- I'm guessing no one did. Until now.

Memorabilia at Oak Harbor Tavern

940 SE Pioneer Way, Oak Harbor, WA 98277 - (360) 675-9919
Est. Dec 16, 1939 - First bar in current location 1856 - Building constructed: c.1852 - Closed March 2020
Previous bars in this location: Forner's Tavern, Barrington's
Web site: oakharbortavern.com - facebook
Reviews: yelp

#1972 - Jo Jo's Harbor Light Tavern, Oak Harbor, WA - 11/18/2012

Patrons: 7 middle-aged to old guys, 7 baseball caps. We were only 50% middle aged male and had no baseball caps, so we immediately stood out. But we had a nice chat with customer Yogi, who is one of the regulars who has his own mug at Jo Jo's, some of them a little worse for the wear.

650 SE Pioneer Way Oak Harbor, WA 98277 - (360) 679-1388
Est. 1994 - Building constructed: 1926
Reviews: urbanspoon 

#1971 - Toby's Tavern, Coupville, WA - 11/17/2012

Toby's Tavern is a nice little joint for a beer and some pub food, in a historic space in Coupeville, the second oldest town in the state of Washington, founded in 1852 by Captain Thomas Coupe. It's a fine place to sample the Penn Cove mussels, or just grab some halibut fish and chips or a bowl of clam chowder. A decent selection of beers includes their own  Toby’s Parrot Red Ale. It gets a fair amount of tourists but still feels like a primarily local place, with the servers calling people by name and giving them grief. The walls are pleasantly cluttered with artifacts and old photos.

The place has been "Toby's" since sometime between the mid 70s and late 80s (1988?), but it has been a bar since 1938. The construction date of the building is unknown, but at least a portion of it goes back to at least 1890, with various estimates ranging from 1869 to 1875. It is one of a handful of buildings built by John Alexander S. Robertson in the 19th century which are still in use today. The back bar dates back to the 19th century, and was moved to its current location in 1943, when Vique Sealey purchased the place and moved the bar there from his Central Hotel location across the street, which had been seriously damaged by fire. The back bar had been used in the Ft. Casey Officers Club in the early 20th century, and stored at Ft. Worden during prohibition. The business was Sealey's Tavern until at least in the early 70s.

8 Front Street Northwest Coupeville, WA 98239 (360) 678-4222
Est. 1988? - Building constructed: c. 1875 - Bar since 1938
Previous bars in this location: Sealey's Tavern
Web site: tobysuds.com
Reviews: jeepspubstaverns - examiner - shalinigujavarty - beeradvocate - yelp