We walk into tourism

The Pike Pub, Seattle, Washington
The bar we visited this week reminded me of a megachurch. Most bars probably wouldn't appreciate that, but I don't mean it as an insult. For the three years, we’ve been visiting a new bar every week, and we’ve (almost) always asked the same two questions: “What makes for a good bar?” and “Whether you go or not, what do you think would make for a good church?” A few people we talked to mentioned megachurches, saying they don't like them because they're cold and impersonal.

And yet, we know a large family whose kids all have special needs. In their experience, large churches are more likely to be able to minister to their kids. A small -- or even medium-sized -- church can rarely offer what their family needs. This week's big bar offered far more variety than we've seen in smaller bars.

This week we decided we should go Christmas shopping at Pike Place Market after Mindy got off work. It feels a little odd to visit a tourist attraction near your home and work. You get the feeling the place is really only meant for visitors. By the time we got there, the fish-throwing was over for the day, but the comic book store was still open, and that's what we really cared about. We wandered around a few other shops as well, but we were hungry, and we needed to visit our bar for the week. After a bit of fruitless wandering (Pike Place Market is a maze), we decided The Pike Pub seemed like the place we’d go to if we were tourists.

It’s the pub of the Pike Brewing Company. I’m sure many out-of-towners take advantage of the daily brewery tours and visit the Microbrewery Museum. The pub has samplers for trying a variety of beers that I’m sure pair well with the Pike Pretzel Platter.

It’s a large place, two floors with different sections, with plenty of colorful decorations. Plenty of people were there, and though there were several bars, we couldn't find three seats together (our son was with us). We circled around and went back to the hostess stand and asked to be seated at a table.

Happy hour had just ended (it was five after six), so we ordered sandwiches and cider from the regular menu. Obviously, since we were sitting in a booth, we couldn’t chat with other customers. That's why we usually sit at the bar. But while we were waiting for our food, we asked Madeline, one of the hostesses, our two questions. 

She said, a good bar, “I like bars with a welcoming, relaxed atmosphere.” She also noted the need for “delicious libations.”

I asked her if these things were true of The Pike Pub, and she thought they were. (We found all the staff welcoming and very pleasant. But it was busy, so we didn't want to take them away from their work for our questions) Madeline noted that Pike Brewing Company offered guests a variety of possible experiences. The Beer Museum, inside The Pike Pub, had historic alcohol memorabilia as well as the TVs to provide a sports bar feel. One section was more like a traditional English pub. (Upstairs, the newest space was called Tankard and Tun -- more of a comfortable fine-dining place,) We were in the restaurant section, which has a diner feel. There’s something nice about providing different things for different people, especially for hungry, thirsty tourists.

Before heading back to our table, we asked our church question. “That’s so interesting,” she said. “It’s similar things. It should be warm and welcoming. But without the libations, of course.” She said she likes it when a church has warm colors. “And not scary murals depicting Satan” or God as a meanie. She said a church should have “the essence of togetherness and safety.”

New customers were coming downstairs from the street entrance, and Madeline had to get back to work. (I hope she gets a chance to read this. She -- and her colleagues -- made us feel quite welcome in a place that has a bit of an amusement park feel.) She and others at The Pike Pub did a good job of making a mega-bar -- of sorts -- feel homey.