The Platinum Posse and I dropped into Local for beer & snacks the other day. This spot hosted, briefly, Chances Bar, and before that the Kik’nbaque Lounge, and before that, Chances Bar again. Apparently all four (three) of these bars have had the same owner, but I was so grateful for good snacks and beer that I decided not to press the issue, and instead we spent our time watching the Boulevard.
There was lots of foot traffic out and about, some people strolling on the boulevard; numerous others were heading to the liquor store next door. We even saw seom biker-types, presumably Gypsy Jokers, wander across the street for some Subway sandwiches.
When I was outside for a bit, I watched two people in a strange verbal altercation of sorts. They had passed one another on the sidewalk, one smiling and the other frowning, and the smiler called out the frowner for not being friendly. He hassled the frowner for a bit of time while I watched, then fessed up that he was kidding; with a grin and a wave to the surprised frowner, he wandered away.
As dinner time came closer, Local began to pick up a nice crowd, a different one than I’ve usually seen in this bar throughout its different incarnations. In the past, it seems to have served as a younger crowd/ “punk” bar, a sports bar, a bar primarily visited by African-Americans…. all in the last couple of years.
The crowd last week was white, reasonably upscale, and definitely queer. It’s an interesting thing to observe, that one place on the boulevard can serve so many different clienteles in such a short timeframe. It’s also a reflection of the different kinds of folks who live in Albina.
The food was good. We were happy.
