Bus Stop Bar
Bus Stop bar manager Rodney Shrader (right) fondly remembers a tiny bar in Bellingham, WA, where drinks were so cheap that the worst thing patrons could imagine was getting 86’d. As a result, everyone went there and tried hard to get along, which led to some surprising relationships. “You’d be wedged between some biker and some drunk old lady,” he recalls, “and you’d end up talking to people you never would have imagined.”
When Shrader and Gary Zinter opened the Bus Stop Bar in 2005, one of their goals was to create a neighborhood hangout where all kinds of people would feel comfortable, as in the Bellingham bar or Eileen’s of Broadway, a great Seattle bar we have lost.
Zinter, who is an actor, originally wanted to create a performance space, but economic realities gradually morphed his project into a bar. While grappling with all kinds of plumbing and construction problems to transform a former clothing store into a bar, Zinter and Shrader kept their project fun by gathering an eclectic group of friends to pose for a publicity photo at a local bus stop (left) that set the tone for the bar to come.
Photo by Gigi Grinstad, courtesy of the Bus Stop Bar
Located at the block’s Metro bus stop, the bar presents a cozy alternative to standing in the rain waiting for public transportation. Inside, it feels more like a cross between a basement rec room and a coffee house than a traditional bar.
The interior has a huge graffiti mural by a local artist, featuring tags from several notorious neighborhood graffiti writers. Shrader says that this aspect of the mural backfired somewhat when some bar patrons recognized tags they had spent time erasing on their own buildings. Whoops!
The bar also features paintings by Rick Kleu, whom Shrader describes as “a local character of infamy,” whose improvised work can be seen on coasters displayed in Seattle dive bars like the Mecca and the Five Point.
Shrader and Zinter decided that Kleu’s talents were worthy of more than just coasters and asked him to display paintings. They originally planned rotating shows, but Kleu’s paintings worked so well that they became a permanent exhibit.
Shrader feels that the destruction of this block is symbolic of a gradual erosion of Seattle’s character. He blames this on our political choices, saying that, “Having a city government full of property developers, they’re going to make sure that they and their friends make as much money as they can. We voted them into office, so I don’t think we can be surprised that they’re doing it.”
Sometimes he feels like moving away to San Francisco or Portland, cities that he believes have managed to develop without losing their unique characters. At other times, he feels like standing his ground and maintaining at least an island of old Seattle culture. Indeed, he and Zinter are talking about moving the bar to a new location, where they hope to hold onto their character and clientele. They even plan to hold onto their name, whether or not the new bar is at a bus stop. Some things are just worth keeping.
Photo by Garth Skovgard