As Halloween looms, neighborhood bar returns to life

A few blocks from downtown Aberdeen, a long-standing bar returns to the world once more, this time as The Cave Bar, the latest in a long line of bars to inhabit the first floor of the Polish Club.

A neighborhood bar at heart, the resurgent Cave will hopefully become a comfortable local spot for residents and visitors alike, said Tracy Hatton, who purchased the bar in June, refitting and refurbishing, as it cruises toward a grand reopening on Friday, Oct. 11, following a soft launch at the beginning of September.

“It’s not a big cavernous bar. It’s a comfy cozy bar. It’s laid back,” Hatton said, sitting next to the newly repainted bar. “You put that all together, and it’s got good bones. It’s got the neighborhood vibes.”

Hatton spent decades running restaurants and bars, largely in Texas, before returning to the region.

“I’m from the South Sound area. But I lived in Texas for a couple of decades. I came back as my parents were aging,” Hatton said. “I didn’t want a full service restaurant with 30 employees. It’s a lot of work, a lot of moving parts.”

Sensing an opportunity, Hatton said she got the bar to honor her late mother as much as to be part of the community.

“She would absolutely love this place,” Hatton said of her mother, who died last year.

Community

Hatton speaks of the local bars she visited in Europe years ago— small holes in the wall, hosting only one or two dozen people from the surrounding neighborhood, wrapped in the warm blanket of community. The history of immigrants coming to the country and building community there resonated with her, Hatton said, reflecting on her ancestors migration to the region.

“When I came down here and looked at the building and met with the trustees of the Polish Club and learned more about the history of the building and the neighborhood, I loved the idea of being part of that rich history,” Hatton said. “It’s not just the Polish Club, it’s all the immigrants that came through the Harbor.”

The Polish Club was built in 1916 by the Polish citizens association, hosting a bar on the first floor since its inception.

“A lot of it is very very original. You’ve got some structural stuff underneath that has been repaired and replaced over the years,” Hatton said. “But you can see some of the original molding in some of these rooms from when they built the building.”

The history of the area is an interesting one, Hatton said.

“This area was the Polish area of town. The Polish Club was founded in 1914. The community came together to build a community center. They would have classes here. There used to be a birthing center in the building,” Hatton said. “The building catty-corner to us used to be the Polish grocery store. … This whole neighborhood was Polish immigrants. I think a lot of them were dockworkers. I heard from the older people in the neighborhood about the dockworkers coming in for lunch or coming in after work.”

Hatton said she’s worked with the association as she works to breathe life back into the bar.

“The Polish Club has been very supportive of us. They loved the changes and the vibe,” Hatton said. “That’s what was important to me, to continue in the great neighborhood tradition, a place people feel comfortable coming in, coming by themselves, coming with friends.”

Hatton said the bar’s offerings reflect its ancestry as part of the Polish Club where possible.

“The previous owner named it The Cave at the Polish Club. I like the name the Cave. I just took it further and added Bar. I gave a nod to the Polish Club with the Polish eagle. We have traditional kielbasas. We have a fairly good selection of Polish vodkas,” Hatton said. “We tried to give a nod to the Polish Club and to the traditions of the Polish community. But it’s not all Polish. We wanted to pay homage to what they created here.”

Refit and refinish

Formally signing for the bar in June, Hatton said it was a rapid effort in getting the bar back into commission.

“Eighty-nine days. Got the liquor license, the health permit. In this day and age to get it done in 90 days is pretty amazing,” Hatton said. “Post-pandemic, you have to be so aware of cross contamination and cleanliness. You have to have a dive vibe, not dirty.”

Longtime patrons will recognize the bar, Hatton said — but there are changes.

“Mostly what we did, I call it lipstick and rouge. We stained the bar, repainted the bar top,” Hatton said. “A little modernizing. We’re not reinventing the wheel. Just putting new air in the tires.”

New furniture, new entertainment options, and an expanded kitchen are all on offer.

“If you’re into all the games, we have big screen TVs. If not, we have trivia, pool tables, darts, table games,” Hatton said. “I like to play with food. We came up with this Bloody Mary pizza that kicked ass this weekend. I love that pizza oven. It’s great. That pizza oven makes the best pizzas ever.”

Improvements to the air conditioning, added TVs for game coverage, and a freezer part replacement that involved knocking out a wall round out the most visible changes.

“We literally had to take out a wall so that they could replace it. When it was down, we went, what if we did this,” Hatton said. “The food was behind the bar. We really want the bartenders to focus on making great drinks. We’ll have someone else who makes great food. It all comes together.”

The refit also saw a handful of TVs added that will show whatever the customers like, Hatton said.

“We have subscriptions to all sorts of stuff,” Hatton said. “I would like to bring the UFC fights here, if people are interested in it.”

Some of the bar stools, functioning less than perfectly after nearly a century of service, were also replaced, Hatton said.

“These have been here since the ‘40s,” Hatton said. “They’re truly right out of the Norman Rockwell painting.”

Hatton thanked Greater Grays Harbor Inc. for their assistance, saying they helped her make the decision to buy the bar.

“They really sold me on investing here to be honest. They were really great. They referred a lot of vendor services in the area to get the bar up and running,” Hatton said. “The economic information alone was great.”

Hatton says she’s excited to be part of the wave as Aberdeen looks at the future.

“In the ‘90s, when Mason County, Lewis County, Grays Harbor lost so much business in the lumber industry and no new industry came in to replace it — the transition was tough,” Hatton said. “I feel very confident investing in Aberdeen. I feel like we’re on the edge of change. You have young families moving out here. You see a lot of renovations happening on homes. It’s exciting to see.”

A new-type pub

The Cave Bar will be part of the ecosystem of Grays Harbor, Hatton said — an entity that is a moving part of the community, enriching the lives around it.

“I consider it the third place. Your first place is home. Your second place is work or school. The third place is where you hang out when you’re not at home, when you’re not at work,” Hatton said. “It’s a home away from home. Cozy and comfy.”

A dark and sullen bar that lives in the past doesn’t spell community for her; it’s a brave new world and the Cave Bar is up to the challenge, Hatton said.

“There is a large segment of the population that is going alcohol free. The younger generation is more aware of alcohol and dangers. We have a large menu of non-alcohol drinks,” Hatton said. “We have a large menu of mocktails, coconut waters, juices, sweet cream coffees, energy drinks, that kind of stuff.”

Not content merely to offer an agile array of food and drinks, Hatton said the bar is aiming to plug into the calendar — last weekend saw Oktoberfest food and drinks, with more timely offerings to come, Hatton said.

“We had Oktoberfest. We made it work, didn’t we,” Hatton said to a bartender. “We look at that national day calendar and try to make something with it.”

The strength of the bar is in its care of duty, in its attention to detail, and in how it brings people together, Hatton said.

“At the end of the day, every bar, every restaurant sells the same food, the same drinks,” Hatton said. “The devil’s in the details. We try to look at the details.”

The Cave Bar’s strength is in its community roots — a living room for the people.

“It’s a neighborhood bar,” Hatton said. “I watch people come from the apartments over here. People walk over here.”

The reopening, led by a soft open on Sept. 1, has gone smoothly, Hatton said, as the bar cruises toward its grand reopening.

“This is our fourth week,” Hatton said. “We really want to get our process together before the grand opening. Remember where we keep the beer.”

With a DJ, radio station, local officials, door prizes, free food and fun drinks lined up for the 11th, the reopening should be a proper to-do, Hatton said. But her eyes are on the future, planning on working with the Polish Club to hold larger events for the community utilizing the available space.

“Community is very important to me. We’re sponsored a few things. We’re sponsoring a cornhole team. We’re sponsoring a couple pool teams. Our newest sponsorship is a car racing team. They’re going into their off-season,” Hatton said. “We like to be part of the community.”

Contact Senior Reporter Michael S. Lockett at 757-621-1197 or michael.lockett@thedailyworld.com.