What is a “dive” bar?
The term dates to times when such terminology actually meant something real and concrete, as opposed to the Cosplay Era we currently inhabit.
At Beervana, Jeff Alworth offers a thought: Observations from a Dive Bar (today’s cover photo of Kay’s in Portland is borrowed from Jeff’s article).
My professional need to visit breweries has cut into dive bar time, but for some reason, this year I’ve been hitting them more often, mostly because of the same emotional need that drives me to watch reruns of The Rockford Files on Amazon. And the main thing I’ve learned is: I’m not alone. Brewery taprooms may be struggling, but dive bars are as lively as ever.
But for a slightly deeper “dive” (pun intended):
When Is a Dive Bar Truly a Dive? Misappropriating the term to chase trends cheapens the earned glory of our most beloved watering holes, by Jabriel Donohue (Restaurant Manifesto)
What marketers, trendsetters, and even many bar owners fail to grasp is that a “dive bar” is more than an aesthetic. It’s not something that can be papered on the walls or adopted by fiat. No amount of corrugated siding, expired license plates, carved initials, or sliced-up posters and stickers will turn a regular bar into a dive bar. A popular magazine can’t simply anoint a trendy new concept a subspecies of dive. In fact, the moment a place is written up as a “great dive bar,” its dive bar credentials suffer until, after a couple of months when tourists invariably grow tired, the regulars return.
As an aside, “speakeasy” is another casualty of Instagrammable existence.
Wait, is that a state alcoholic beverage license I see hanging behind the bar? If so, then you’re not a speakeasy, are you, although I’ll concede that your Prohibition-era “flapper” cosplay is some peak Disney.
In other unrelated news, infill is on the way for the abandoned digs of The Hub in Clifton. Amanda Hancock has the scoop at the Louisville Courier Journal.
New bar to open at former location of The Hub in Louisville. What to know, by
About six months after The Hub left the Clifton neighborhood, a new bar is expected to take over the prime Frankfort Avenue spot.
Dive Bar on Frankfort is set to open at 2235 Frankfort Ave., according to a notice filed with Louisville Alcohol Beverage Control.
The new watering hole appears to come from Skelton Brothers LLC, the same ownership of Hilltop Tavern just down the road at 1800 Frankfort Ave. Hilltop Tavern is know for its low-key setting with bar games, and outdoor seating.
