Welcome!
Some people collect autographs, some collect antiques, others collect stamps. My hobby is a little different, I collect bars. This site represents my collection, documenting each bar I visit.
This is not a review site, there's plenty of those already. Most posts in this bar diary are slice-of-life recaps of the half hour or so I spent having a beer. I hope you enjoy browsing through my collection!
--ScooterJA Few Random Favorites
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Guy & Mae’s Tavern
22 June 2013(Downtown, Williamsburg, KS) Scooter’s 984th bar, first visited in 2013. Guy & Mae’s is a little hole in the wall bar that, apart from the dollar bills hanging from the...
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The Alaskan Hotel & Bar
12 May 2023(Downtown, Juneau, AK) Scooter’s 1651st bar, first visited in 2023. We used this historic bar as our meet-up spot after our group converged from three different directions. I was the...
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Dive bar Archive
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#1163: Silver Dollar Tavern
Posted on August 2016 | No Comments(Downtown, Madison, WI) Scooter’s 1163rd bar, first visited in 2016. This dive bar was directly acruss the street from the rear exit of our previous bar, and was our last... -
#1161: Paradise Lounge
Posted on August 2016 | No Comments(Downtown, Madison, WI) Scooter’s 1161st bar, first visited in 2016. We passed at least half a dozen bars walking over to the south corner of the square, but I’d heard... -
#1158: Come Back In
Posted on August 2016 | No Comments(Downtown, Madison, WI) Scooter’s 1158th bar, first visited in 2016. A dive-ish bar that shares the same kitchen (and I believe owners) as Eseen Haus but has a different menu.... -
#1154: James Ballentine VFW Post #246
Posted on August 2016 | No Comments(Lyn-Lake, Minneapolis, MN) Scooter’s 1154th bar, first visited in 2016. (Also known as “Uptown VFW”) It’s not often that a VFW shows up on nearly every list of must-see bars... -
#1153: Donnie Dirk’s Zombie Den
Posted on August 2016 | No Comments(Hawthorne, Minneapolis, MN) Formerly Stand-Up Frank’s Scooter’s 1153rd bar, first visited in 2016. I have a strict rule that I cannot count count a bar on this list if it’s... -
#1152: Neumann’s Bar
Posted on August 2016 | No Comments(Downtown, North St. Paul, MN) Scooter’s 1152nd bar, first visited in 2016. Though this was a painfully long Uber ride each way (including requiring an emergency bathroom stop 2/3 of... -
#1151: Palmer’s Bar
Posted on August 2016 | No Comments(West Bank, Minneapolis, MN) Scooter’s 1151st bar, first visited in 2016. My apologies for the poor outdoor photo, a torrential rainstorm began right as we paid our tab at Nomad... -
#1150: Nomad World Pub
Posted on August 2016 | No Comments(West Bank, Minneapolis, MN) Scooter’s 1150th bar, first visited in 2016. This wasn’t originally on our list but the bartender at The Local (who also works here) recommended it. In... -
#1145: Cuzzy’s
Posted on August 2016 | No Comments(Downtown, Minneapolis, MN) Scooter’s 1145th bar, first visited in 2016. Downtown dive bar, plastered with dollar bills, that opens early for breakfast. I had pancakes and Wild Burnette (brown ale)... -
#1139: The Muddy Pig
Posted on August 2016 | No Comments(Summit-University, St Paul, MN) Scooter’s 1139th bar, first visited in 2016. The oldest craft beer bar in the Twin Cities. It’s hard for be to call it a dive with... -
#1137: Lockerbie Pub
Posted on July 2016 | No Comments(Downtown, Indianapolis, IN) Scooter’s 1137th bar, first visited in 2016. A small but charming dive bar with good food, a tiny canopy in the back parking lot, and a surprisingly... -
#1121: The Center Pub
Posted on November 2015 | No Comments(Downtown Square, Newark, OH) Scooter’s 1121st bar, first visited in 2015. The Center Pub is a genuine dive bar located i n Newark’s downtown square, in the front corner of... -
#1120: Old Folks Lounge
Posted on October 2015 | No Comments(East Side, Kansas City, MO) Scooter’s 1120th bar, first visited in 2015. This is a bar I have wanted to visit for years, but I’ve always been too scared to... -
#1118: Whiplash
Posted on August 2015 | No Comments(East Topeka, Topeka, KS) Scooter’s 1118th bar, first visited in 2015. This biker bar was rather tricky to get to due to road construction, but was worth the effort to... -
#1117: Oscar’s Bar & Grill
Posted on August 2015 | No Comments(College Hill, Topeka, KS) Scooter’s 1117th bar, first visited in 2015. Oscar’s is located in a rather nondescript building, a building shared with a hair salon, in what appears to... -
#1116: Hot Pockets
Posted on August 2015 | No Comments(Oakland, Topeka, KS) Scooter’s 1116th bar, first visited in 2015. This had originally been edited from our route today due to time, but when we realized how close we were... -
#1115: Brass Rail
Posted on August 2015 | No Comments(Oakland, Topeka, KS) Scooter’s 1115th bar, first visited in 2015. Ever since I first discovered the genre, I have been in love with neighborhood bars located in old houses. So... -
#1114: Joletta’s
Posted on August 2015 | No Comments(North Topeka, Topeka, KS) Scooter’s 1114th bar, first visited in 2015. This bar represented unfinished business from May 5, 2007. Back on that date, we were at a bar called... -
#1113: Kick Start Saloon
Posted on August 2015 | No Comments(North Topeka, Topeka, KS) Scooter’s 1113th bar, first visited in 2015. This bar is so far over the top that I’ll let the plethora of photos do most of the... -
#1112: 6th Street Back Door
Posted on August 2015 | No Comments(Central Topeka, Topeka, KS) Scooter’s 1112th bar, first visited in 2015. What a unique and unexpected find. This was tacked on as a last second replacement after another bar was... -
#1111: The Dutch Goose
Posted on August 2015 | No Comments(Randolph, Topeka, KS) Scooter’s 1111th bar, first visited in 2015. We had a mini pseudo-toast in here to celebrate my 1111th bar. There’s a long bar along one wall, and...




















