A friend of mine currently living on the East Coast wrote me last week to say that he attended his first “pink slip” party, which is apparently all the rage on that side of the continent these days.

Recently laid-off workers in the real estate, banking and professional services industries are gathering together — pink layoff notices in hand  — in bars to share sob stories and unemployment resource information as a way to support each other through what is likely one of the most difficult times in their lives.

It got me thinking about the places I would go around the South Sound if I wanted to be comforted by friendly faces and a home-away-from-home atmosphere. Consider this column a public service announcement for those in the South Sound who will be laid off in the coming months as the economy continues to sour and companies seek ways to control costs by cutting payroll.

On the southern edge of the South Sound, there is Olympia’s Brotherhood Lounge, which is a place people can either just hang out and play shuffleboard or down a pint while they seek stimulating conversation. It is like a whole grain version of Cheers without the annoying mailman. I went in once and started chatting with a dude who told me his life story before I even knew his name. 

I drop in there every now and then as I swing through town just so I have a place to chill between interviews. The beer just tastes better when you feel as if you are surrounded by friends.

Sometimes dealing with hard times requires a little regression. People return to old haunts, sleep with old girlfriends, eat at familiar restaurants that went unvisited for a while as a way to somehow recapture the moment when life was good. McMenamins Spar Café is one of those places. The legendary diner turned historic local hangout is a place where people of all sorts gather to socialize in groups or otherwise be social to strangers interested in a talk over beers. It was a locally owned joint until the McMenamin brothers bought it and “returned it to its original, historic glory.” I have to admit that I love the historical touches — the dark wood bar, the iron trellis and the privacy shades on the back booths. But I remember what it used to look like, so the “historical” feel just seems forced. But I can’t stop visiting there just because we had this relationship once, and I want to have that magic back. And the berry beers are delicious. They are like homemade pie in a glass.

Sometimes people just want to wallow in drunken solitude for a bit. Such action calls for a trip to The Clipper, where they tend to not skimp on the booze and have a way of knowing when to be chatty and when to drop the pints and walk away. 

Up in T-town, there are a host of bars that are prime for pink slip parties. Tops among them is Doyle’s Public House, which is likely the most socially networked bar in the South Sound. It always seems to have little events for causes of the day and seems to draw patrons daily who just happen to stop by on their way home from work. It doesn’t take long for patrons to become regulars. 

Then there is the Park Way Tavern. There is nothing like walking up the sidewalk as the bartender takes a quick drag on his cigarette before saying that he has some great beer to try and we end up chatting through the rest of his smoke as if we were waiting for a bus with no particular place to go. It is the sort of bar where the tap pullers seem to know the beer you need before you even sit down.

The Swiss also has its share of regulars simply because of its location next to a college campus and downtown, its slate of events, its collection of beers and munchies and its neighborhood vibe. People can just saddle up to any table and start talking or wallow in the loft couches by themselves.

[Brotherhood Lounge, 119 Capitol Way N., Olympia]

[The Clipper, 402 Fourth Ave E., Olympia]

[McMenamins Spar Café, 114 Fourth Ave. E., Olympia]

[Doyle’s Public House, 208 St. Helens Ave., Tacoma]

[Park Way Tavern, 313 N. I St., Tacoma]

[The Swiss Pub, 1904 Jefferson Ave., Tacoma]