#2545 - JD Slick's, Sultan, WA - 5/26/2014

JD Slick's is a large bar in a small town. Sultan, Washington lies northeast of Seattle, between the coast and the Cascade mountains and at the foot of the Cascade Loop, squeezed between the Wallace and Sultan rivers as they flow into the Skykomish. The old logging town has a population of about 5,000 people, and it was closer to 1,000 in August of 1968 when some 20,000 hippies rolled into a raspberry farm just out of town to attend the first Sky River Rock Festival and Lighter than Air Fair. The music festival, held a year before Woodstock and inspired by the Great Duvall Piano Drop, included The Grateful Dead, Santana, Muddy waters, Richard Pryor, John Fahey, Gram Parsons and many other performers.

Side of JD Slick's, Sultan, WA - The windmill from
the old Dutch Cup can be seen in the background

Although there is a new Sky River Rock Festival scheduled for August 2017, JD Slick's seems a world away from that -- its decor more like a cross between Studio 54 and an Applebees, and the politics skewing conservative. But it does host live music -- sometimes Christian rock and mostly country --  and notably one Joe Slick Band. Joe and Dawn "Slick" Schlicher established the place in May of 2013, in a building where the Dutch Cup Restaurant and Lounge had been running since the 50s (the old Dutch Cup windmill now hovers above an espresso hut across the parking lot). While it now looks like a big techno dance club, like a lot of the larger bars in smaller communities, it seems to provide a little bit of everything. All the standard suburban sports bar boxes are checked -- the Seahawks on TV, karaoke, pull tabs, pool tables, banquet chairs, Taco Tuesdays, trivia nights, Texas Hold'em, and beer pong. There's a dance floor, a sizable beer garden out back with horseshoe throwing, and they have special events for holidays and their annual arm wrestling event.

JD Slick's, Sultan, WA

JD's has a fairly standard bar menu of burgers, sandwiches, salads and fried foods, a small selection of craft beers and broader assortment of corporate standards. Four beers in a bucket of ice will cost you $11. The cocktails are generally candy flavored vodkas and lots of canned sweet juices. The staff are super nice and the kitchen seems to always be open.

Sky River Rock Festival poster, 1968
Art by Walt Crowley, image from the seattlestar.net

Dutch Cup mug, available at amazon.com

923 Main St, Sultan, WA 98294 - (360) 217-8174
Est. May 31, 2013 - Building constructed: 1953
Previous bars in this location: Dutch Cup Restaurant and Lounge
Web site: facebook
Reviews: yelp

#2544 - Kodi's Noon Saloon, Pateros, WA - 5/26/2014

The Hub Tavern was established in this location in Pateros (puh-TAIR-uhs) Washington in 1967. It was one of the first businesses in the moved and rebuilt part of town, as that same year Wells Dam was constructed downstream on the Columbia, flooding much of the original city with what is now called Lake Pateros. Some time in the late 90s the bar evolved into Kodi's Noon Saloon & Steak House, as owner Terry Grinnell transformed it from a dive tavern into a more versatile neighborhood joint, with a full menu, hard liquor, a patio, etc.

But the dam was not the last disaster to befall the city of Pateros and its few hundred residents. About two months after this visit 95 of the 279 homes in the area were destroyed by the Carlton Complex wildfire, the largest wildfire in Washington state history. We met some real nice people there, we wish them and the rest of the town the best, and look forward to stopping in again sometime.

Kodi's Noon Saloon, Pateros, WA

Kodi's Noon Saloon & Steak House, Pateros, WA
(river side entrance)

154 Pateros Mall, Pateros, WA 98846 - (509) 923-9767
Previous bars at this site: The Hub Tavern
Web site: facebook
Reviews: quad city herald - yelp - tripadvisor

#2543 - Los Cantaritos, Pateros, WA - 5/26/2014

Fairly standard, Azteca-style, American Mexican food -- closed in 2017, but a sister location is still open in Twisp, WA.

180 Pateros Mall, Pateros, WA 98846 - (509) 587-3350
Est. 2014? - Closed April 2017
Web site: facebook
Reviews: yelp - tripadvisor

#2542 - The Plaza, Oroville, WA - 5/25/2014

This is the standard sort of bar found in suburban strip malls, with stucco ceiling, corporate beer paraphernalia, cheap wood paneling, pull tab bins, diner-style food, banquet chairs, a dance floor, and, of course, karaoke.

1412 Main St, Oroville, WA 98844 - (509) 476-2664                          
Est. Sep 2012
Previous bars in this location: Fao's, Yo Yo's
Reviews: gazette-tribune - tripadvisor

#2541 - Pastime Bar and Grill, Oroville, WA - 5/25/2014

The Pastime Bar & Grill, Oroville, WA

The "Pastime" is the most common name used for bars in Washington state's history but only a few remain, and I make a special point to try and get to them. (At last count I'd identified 59 cities in Washington that have had at least one bar named the Pastime, but I count only 7 or 8 that remain open today.) Oroville's version includes the bonus of an antique Brunswick back bar, which one person associated with the bar said they heard came to Oroville via a bar in Loomis.

I don't know how long there's been an actual bar in this building, but it's been a while. My sparse evidence from city guides has them listed in the bar section at least as far back as 1954. From the current owners:

Antique Brunswick bar at the Pastime in Oroville, WA

"Our building was originally constructed as two side by side establishments, housing in its south half, Prince’s Thrifty department store, an important part of the economy in Oroville, WA. The structure dates back to the 1930s when Prince’s Thrifty department store opened in one half and a pool hall operated next door, becoming one space after the departure of Prince’s to new quarters. Gaming took place in the billiards parlor next door, becoming one space after the departure of Prince’s to new quarters."

They also add that, "Back in the 70s, the Pastime sold more Olympia Beer than any other tavern in Washington State."

Today the dark wood bar and black metal stools seem more like a framed exhibit than an integral part of the bright, capacious and light-colored restaurant. This is a modern restaurant and pub, with fairly upscale food choices and more suited to brunch after church than nursing a cold one with the boys. The old neon sign has been carted away. The spare, clean decor feels like a new craft brewpub, and indeed, since this visit new managers are currently moving in the brew tanks. No doubt the food and beer choices are much better than they were in the old incarnations. Once again I feel the tension between my once-every-couple-years visitor's preference for places that feel old and a bit shabby, and my bittersweet gratitude that someone appears to be pragmatic about what it takes to keep the old places thriving. As long as they keep the old name and that backbar, I'll be back.

Old Oroville Pastime sign
(Photo from Pastime Facebook page)

1307 Main St, Oroville, WA 98844                                    
Est. April 26, 2013 - Building constructed: 1925
Web site: pastimebarandgrill.com - facebook
Reviews: gazette-tribune - oliverdailynews - yelp - tripadvisor - route97

#2540 - Chesaw Tavern, Chesaw, WA - 5/25/2014

Chesaw Tavern, Chesaw, WA

From the Curlew Saloon, a small bar in a small community near the Canadian border, we headed west to the Chesaw Tavern, a smaller bar in a smaller community even nearer to the northern border. And while Curlew was temporarily considered a ghost town, Chesaw is still considered one today -- though it is temporarily re-animated every July 4 for the Chesaw Rodeo, and described as "still a thriving community today" by the Okanogan County Historical Society.

The highlights of the story of Chesaw are laid out on a wooden sign in front of the tavern and general store, and on the tavern menus. The latter describes it this way: "As the story goes: In the late 1800's, an allotment of land was given to an Indian woman named Susane Louie. She married a Chinaman, Joseph Charles Chee Saw and they settled in the area on Meyers Creek, prospecting, trading goods, and raising a family. Eventually the town adopted the name Chesaw. In 1896, mineral rights were opened up and word spread that Chesaw was rich with gold! Miners flooded the area. Then in 1900, the north half of the Colville Indian Reservation was opened for homesteading, bring yet more families to farm the area. The turn of the century found Chesaw to be a community of several hundred people with two three-story hotels, a weekly newspaper, a doctor, an undertakeer, an attorney, blacksmiths, general stores, and several saloons including one called the Bucket of Blood."

I don't know how old the building is or how long a tavern has been there. Inside there's a photo date 1969 that looks much as it does today, but I have no idea if it actually survived from the boom era, avoiding the fires that so often consumed wood-constructed frontier towns around the turn of the century. Inside today there are some good beers on tap and several more by the bottle, and the tavern appears to be open morning to night. The brightly lacquered wood interior contrasts with the distressed, rustic boards on the exterior, and you can drink from a tractor seat stool or next to the wood burning stove. It feels like history and makes for a fine excursion to add to any roadtrip nearby.

For more bars like this see my google map of Great Old Bars in Washington State.

2045 Chesaw Rd, Oroville, WA 98844 - (509) 485-2174                            
Web site: facebook
Reviews: yelp - youtube (music jam)

#2539 - Curlew Saloon, Curlew, WA - 5/25/2014

Curlew Saloon, Curlew, WA

As the curious flow of the Kettle River snakes back and forth across the U.S. and Canadian borders, from the Monashee Mountains to the Columbia River, it dips into Washington state around White Mountain and past a smattering of old buildings that is the unincorporated community of Curlew, WA. There's not a lot up here, just 10 miles south of the Canadian border in what was for a period considered a ghost town. There are no luxuries like a bank or gas station, but there is nice museum in a historical hotel, and lovely old saloon.

Curlew Saloon, Curlew, WA

It's said that during prohibition bootleggers would sneak in booze from Midway, British Columbia by floating barrels down the river into Curlew. Locals mark the tradition each first Sunday of June in Barrel Derby Days, wagering on how long it will take to reach the Curlew Town Bridge.

You can get your liquor legal inside the Curlew Saloon, and you can drink it under a taxidermy cougar leaping from the ceiling. You can also get a bite to eat, a cold, good beer, and maybe a jello shot if you're in that frame of mind. Someone told me they thought the place had been around since the 40s, but I don't have much to confirm the history of the place. But if you like old country saloons or ghost town like settings, this one must be on your list.

4 River St, Curlew, WA 99118                                         
Web site: facebook 
Reviews: yelp - tripadvisor