Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
There is an article in the Seattle Times today that talks about 30 of Seattle's top 100 Dive Bars from the 2009 book "Seattle's best dive bars" are now gone (And plenty more that weren't in the book). And we're talking about about a period of less than 7 years. It seems to make sense given how fast the city is yuppifying and gentrifying (no doubt, there are a lot more craft cocktail places, gastropubs, and craft beer bars these days), but it's a bummer. A lot of those places were important neighborhood gathering places - "Third places", as opposed to the much colder and more uptight yuppie spots. Seattle is historically a blue collar town. In the 70's and 80's, you'd be hard-pressed to find a bar in Seattle that wasn't divey - now you can't walk 10 feet without bumping into one that has an impressive Amaro selection and raw oysters. Also, I don't count hipster-infested faux-dives as real dive bars.
I know this has been happening in cities like Chicago and San Francisco as well (although they may be doing a slightly better job of holding onto their dives). What about other cities across the country? Manhattan is another example of course - what about your city? Has it been able to retain its dives or are they disappearing?
In Pittsburgh, yes. There is a hipster brewery on every corner. And the breweries are always in some sort of odd old building.
BUT the dive bars are strong out in the suburbs and exurbs. I go to the hipster places in the city and they are practically dead. I go out to the dirty dive bar in some old mill town and the place is packed.
In Pittsburgh, yes. There is a hipster brewery on every corner. And the breweries are always in some sort of odd old building.
BUT the dive bars are strong out in the suburbs and exurbs. I go to the hipster places in the city and they are practically dead. I go out to the dirty dive bar in some old mill town and the place is packed.
That's funny - yeah, I've noticed around here that in nearby cities like Tacoma or Everett dive bars still seem to be thriving.
Dive bars are the country clubs of the working class. When working class jobs disappear, as they have in so many big cities, the dive bars will follow. There are fewer and fewer in Manhattan for sure, though in the right areas of Queens, Brooklyn, the Bronx, and Staten Island, I'm sure you can find more of them.
I know a good amount in Phoenix area, and they are actually extremely popular with the younger crowd. Doesn't seem like they will be going anywhere anytime soon, but we will see.
They are probably being priced out, rent-wise. To pay rising rents, a bar would have to generate more income.
In Pittsburgh, craft breweries and upscale yuppie restaurants are what is trendy. Whenever a developer comes in, they try to change the neighborhood into a hipster paradise to keep up with the "New Pittsburgh" millennial image. It totally fails.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
