#2175 - Diner on Main, Cathlamet, WA - 5/19/2013

The Diner on Main was a shortlived diner and lounge in the neat, old fishing village of Cathlamet, WA. Unfortunately, the bars with a lot of character in Cathlamet have all closed down. Long gone is the old Spar; the old Columbia Saloon sign hangs tantalizingly over a remodeled building, but shows no hint of an actual opening date; and in 2009 they shuttered the River Rat Tap for good, the last bar in a great old 1890 space hanging over the Columbia River, with porthole windows, and upper floor once used as a dance floor and a skating rink, and interior used for the filming of "Men of Honor." The Diner on Main didn't have much personality in the decor -- a 50s theme with the same Marilyn Monroe, Elvis, and James Dean pictures you've seen in countless diners across the country, and now it's closed too.

I don't know what John Anderson will do now. When we chatted with him in the lounge he told us he came here every day and has three beers. "I'm 76 years old," he told us, "There's nothing else to do." John cuts a classic figure with his dirty cowboy hat and big handlebar moustache. Maybe now he'll head up to the Oasis Tavern in Skamokawa? Cathlamet remains one of the nicer little communities to visit along the big river. It really seems like it deserves a good bar or two in some nice, old spaces -- and without the cheesy 50s decorations.

88 Main St, Cathlamet, WA 98612 - (360) 795-0591
Est. March 2013 - Closed 2013 or 2014
Reviews: tdn - yelp

#2174 - Nick's, Amboy, WA - 5/19/2013

"World Famous Nick's Bar and Grill" in Amboy, WA, just 4 miles up the road from "World Famous Red Fir Inn" in Yacolt, closed in December 2013, three months after its owner Jimmy Hill died and seven months after this visit. When it closed it was noted that it was the "oldest bar in Amboy," which really only means it is older than Timbers Saloon up the road, but nevertheless it has a long and storied past. Previously called White's Tavern, the bar was purchased in March of 1951 by Jimmy's Uncle Nick Iverson. In August of that year, the tavern nearly burned down with the other buildings around it, but Nick's was saved, Jimmy said, by workers on the Dam covering themselves in wet blankets and throwing buckets of water to save their local watering hole. (Jimmy Hill, Nick's Facebook).

I do not know how long White's Tavern had been there, or any history of the place before it became Nick's. Clark County tax records do not provide a construction date for the building. Fortunately, the Facebook page says that they're reopening Nick's, apparently sometime in early May 2014. Assuming it will be much as it was before, Nick's will contain a diner portion, a bar serving the basics, and a relatively large area for live music and dancing. It is a favorite stop for bikers, which is always a good sign for bar with character in rural parts of the state.

22011 NE 399th St, Amboy, WA 98601 - (360) 247-9914
Est. 1951
Previous bars in this location: White's Tavern
Web site: nicksbarandgrill.com - facebook
Reviews: yelp - urbanspoon - insiderpages - firstcallseptic

#2173 - Red Fir Inn, Yacolt, WA - 5/19/2013

Yacolt, Washington is a small town of many ghosts. The first ones you notice are the ghosts of old businesses, like the Tall Man's Saloon, layers of dust accruing after the Mt. St. Helens eruption or the 2008 recession slowly drove the places under. Later you read the stories -- residents seeing a man with red eyes staring at them in their bed, laughing children on the stairs, being followed by "little witches." You learn about the "Yacolt Burn," still the largest fire in state history, which burned 238,000 acres and killed 38 people in 1902, leaving residents standing in the Lewis River with every other form of non-flying animal, only to return to a blackened moonscape.  When the small economic boom from salvaging the burned lumber started dying out, the town started to die with it. The general manager of the Clark County Timber Company said, "At Yacolt we have two or three worn out buildings, all vacant and without any perceptible value whatever, these including an old warehouse, a residence formerly occupied by our logging Superintendent, a hospital building, which has been robbed of much of its equipment, and one or two very small buildings of no value, in fact none of them have any value today for Yacolt is absolutely dead with no promise for a future life" (historylink)

And finally there's the very name of the place. "Yacolt" is an Indian term meaning "haunted place" or "place of evil spirits." The name is said to have come from the Klickitats, based on a time when their children went out to pick berries and were snatched away forever by evil spirits. Or maybe it was from a time the Klickitats massacred a group of Wilamie in the berry fields, letting just one Wilamie girl escape, and then being haunted for generations by a female voice singing the Wilamie death song.

It was in this area that Dave Ayers was working graveyard shifts as a millright, then having breakfast at the Red Fir.  The population of Yacolt had been picking up for several years, as it shifted to a bedroom community where people enjoyed the relaxed, natural setting after driving home from jobs in nearby towns. After "28 years and 2 days" in that career, Dave told me with evident specificity, the lady who owned the Red Fir asked him if he wanted to buy the place. He said he agreed, chucked his wristwatch into the parking lot that day, never got another one, and won't touch a computer.

That was 8 or 9 years ago, and now Dave is looking to sell the place -- which the sign out front claims is now "world famous" -- and retire. It's a pleasant, relaxed place, at least on afternoons like the one when I walked in, with Dave and Ernest the cook and bartender happy to tell you about the joint, while locals file in with their own pool cues. Dave added a pizza oven, so they serve those in addition to the standard bar food and some fairly good beer selections.

The Red Fir has been around since 1963, and you really hope Dave finds a good buyer. Nick's up the road in Amboy, the oldest bar in the area, closed not too long after this visit to the area. And it would be a damned shame to see the Red Fir become just another Yacolt ghost.

303 N Amboy Ave, Yacolt, WA 98675 - (360) 686-8222
Est. 1963
Reviews: thereflector - columbian - yelp - urbanspoon

#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: chronline - yelp

#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

#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.com - facebook
Reviews: urbanspoon - yelp