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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Dive bar Archive
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#1655: Red Dog Saloon
Posted on May 2023 | No Comments(Downtown, Juneau, AK) Scooter’s 1655th bar, first visited in 2023. This Old West themed bar is the traditional bar everyone who visits Juneau is supposed to experience. It proved to... -
#1651: The Alaskan Hotel & Bar
Posted on May 2023 | No Comments(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... -
#1639: Alderman’s Bar
Posted on April 2023 | No Comments(Leavenworth, Omaha, NE) Scooter’s 1639th bar, first visited in 2023. Somehow I’ve missed this spot on previous visits even though it’s right across the street from a former bar I... -
#1635: Otter’s Saloon
Posted on April 2023 | No Comments(Northeast Minneapolis, Minneapolis, MN) Scooter’s 1635th bar, first visited in 2023. This tiny little karaoke dive bar was packed but a lot of fun, I’ll plan to come back here... -
#1634: Whitey’s Old Town Saloon
Posted on April 2023 | No Comments(Northeast Minneapolis, Minneapolis, MN) Scooter’s 1634th bar, first visited in 2023. When I was 10 years old, Navin R. Johnson (and his family) taught me “Don’t trust Whitey“. But this... -
#1618: Gopher Bar
Posted on March 2023 | No Comments(Downtown, St Paul, MN) Scooter’s 1618th bar, first visited in 2023. Wanting to mix at least a few dive bars into my journey, I picked Gopher Bar because I liked... -
#1603: Jim’s Alley Bar
Posted on February 2023 | No Comments(Downtown, Kansas City, MO) Scooter’s 1603rd bar, first visited in 2023. A new bar built in dive bar style, and they pulled it off pretty well. Feels a lot like... -
#1601: Checker Bar
Posted on November 2022 | No Comments(Downtown, Detroit, MI) Scooter’s 1601st bar, first visited in 2022. We had almost stopped in here earlier in the evening while walking back to our hotel from Grand Trunk Pub,... -
#1600: Suzy’s Bar
Posted on November 2022 | No Comments(Hamtramck, MI) Scooter’s 1600th bar, first visited in 2022. We almost didn’t stop here because of the party bus parked out front, but we decided to give it a shot.... -
#1599: The Painted Lady
Posted on November 2022 | No Comments(Hamtramck, MI) Scooter’s 1599th bar, first visited in 2022. Our next spot made out initial short list simply based on the fact that we liked out the exterior looked. This... -
#1598: Abick’s Bar
Posted on November 2022 | No Comments(Michigan-Martin, Detroit, MI) Scooter’s 1598th bar, first visited in 2022. Now THIS is what looking for good neighborhood dive bars is all about. Easily in my top 5 of all... -
#1595: Detroiter Bar
Posted on November 2022 | No Comments(Downtown, Detroit, MI) Scooter’s 1595th bar, first visited in 2022. We decided to make one more quick stop before checking to see if our companion back at the hotel had... -
#1593: Sweetwater Tavern
Posted on November 2022 | No Comments(Downtown, Detroit, MI) Scooter’s 1593rd bar, first visited in 2022. One member of our traveling group was exhausted, so the rest of us set out on foot from our hotel... -
#1592: Kruse’s Paint Creek Tavern
Posted on November 2022 | No Comments(Rochester, MI) Scooter’s 1592nd bar, first visited in 2022. Stopped in here for one final round on our way back “home” to make a late dinner. It was surprisingly busy... -
#1588: Gusoline Alley
Posted on November 2022 | No Comments(Downtown, Royal Oak, MI) Scooter’s 1588th bar, first visited in 2022. A craft beer dive bar, decorated like a service station, with a pinball machine. I’ve had a t-shirt with... -
#1587: Ruckmoor Lounge
Posted on November 2022 | No Comments(Crosswoods, Columbus, OH) Scooter’s 1587th bar, first visited in 2022. We almost cut this from our itinerary because we were running an hour behind, but we are so glad we... -
#1586: Callahan’s
Posted on November 2022 | No Comments(Downtown, Columbus, OH) Scooter’s 1586th bar, first visited in 2022. Because it was so cold/windy and everyplace we had tried while walking back was way too crowded, we had decided... -
#1585: Char Bar
Posted on November 2022 | No Comments(Downtown, Columbus, OH) Scooter’s 1585th bar, first visited in 2022. We had been excitedly looking forward to this bar all day, but we were unaware of the hockey game that... -
#1581: Knub’s Pub
Posted on November 2022 | No Comments(Shawnee, KS) Scooter’s 1581st bar, first visited in 2022. Given that this was a suburban strip mall bar I wasn’t expecting anything noteworthy, but this turned out to be a... -
#1577: Hillsiders
Posted on October 2022 | No Comments(Strawberry Hill, Kansas City, KS) Scooter’s 1577th bar, first visited in 2022. Cute dive bar with quirky decor and its own original cocktails that opened in October 2022 after an... -
#1571: 9th & State
Posted on September 2022 | No Comments(Downtown, Kansas City, MO) Formerly Lots of things Scooter’s 1571st bar, first visited in 2022. We had tried to visit here a week earlier but it was closed for a...
