When I say to you “Tacoma’s North End,” you probably think of cute boutiques, homegrown restaurants, and landscaped turn-of-the-century homes. Right? Maybe throw a little Blue Mouse theater and Metro Market in there (it’s still Queen Anne to me and always will be), and you have the Proctor District. Of all the things that sum up North End’s Proctor District, there’s a link in the chain holding all together called the North End Tavern.



With hardly any signage and a front door adjacent to a toy store, you’d hardly know there was a hidden dive bar waiting to be invaded. Bandito Betty and I have been eyeballin’ this place for quite some time, so we headed on in.



North End Tavern was a blue collar after-work pit stop for us. Dead thirsty from a hard day of meetings at the Weekly Volcano World Headquarters, I was pleased to see the standard dive bar microbrew selection on tap. I was also glad to see some very attractive pool tables in the back room. The men playing pool on those pool tables, not so attractive. But they were still fun to watch nonetheless.



Pull-tabs, excessive beer signage, butt-hurting barstools, bad carpeting, a fake fireplace, and a bartender that everyone knows and loves (Floie), all together give us an impression that this place is definitely a dive bar. What makes it so weird is that it’s in the heart of the Proctor District. Something’s just not right about that, like a mindfuck is what it is.



Remember Pepsi Clear? Your eyes were saying it was Sprite, but your mouth was saying it was Pepsi. Fortunately, and unlike Pepsi Clear, the North End Tavern has stood the test of time. And I’m pretty sure no one’s hair has ever caught fire in a North End Tavern advertising campaign.

North End Tavern

2622 N. Proctor St., Tacoma, 253.759.6440



Beer: 5 micros, 4 domestics on tap

Food: bar food

Service: excellent

Mullet count: sadly, none



Bar Exam Dive Grade: B