Boozy snowcones and mini rubber ducks: Enjoy the Fair year-round at new Puyallup bar

The Matterhorn is not a ride at the Fair that makes your stomach spin. It is a peach mint julep with snow-cone ice, crushed to order.

Ducks in a Row is not a game, per se, but it is a tropical blue number in a pint glass with a miniature rubber duck.

“Yes, you get to keep the duck!” said Rachel Vincent, co-owner of The Coaster, a Fair-themed bar that opened New Year’s Day at 120 S. Meridian in downtown Puyallup.

Now you can “do the Puyallup” six days a week, 12 months a year, with Vincent and co-owner Sandi Whitmore as your hosts.

“The Fair is definitely the inspiration,” said Vincent. “We wanted to make sure the cocktail list had a cute Fair spin on it.”

In the Kiss Me at Top (of the Ferris wheel, of course!), Wild Roots huckleberry vodka joins rosemary simple syrup and lemon juice for a spin on a cosmo, garnished with a flutter of dried rose petals.

Also a throwback that’s freshened by Vincent to respectable heights, The Downtown brings together vodka, white rum, blanco tequila, gin, triple sec, lemon and Coca-Cola into one mason jar. Sound like a Long Island Iced Tea? Indeed it is, but The Coaster describes its version as “top-shelf” and I assure you, Vincent will make it to order and it is far better than what you remember (or maybe don’t).

The Fair theme here: a sidecar of popcorn, the red-and-white striped box clipped to the glass with a tiny clothespin.

Drinks with names like See You at the Fair and Daffodil Court boast colorful sugar rims. A French 75, The Carousel, uses Empress gin to lend a lavender hue, and you get a pink-and-white striped heart lollipop because why not?

“I like those little touches,” said Vincent, who created the drinks while Whitmore focused on carrying the theme throughout the space. “I’m all about putting a drink down and people go: ‘Oooh!’”

A PUYALLUP FAIR BAR

The two met working at The Fish Peddler on Tacoma’s Thea Foss Waterway. Both have worked in the industry for decades, usually in the front-of-house. Whitmore’s journey began at a restaurant in high school and shuffled to everything from catering to winery tasting rooms. Vincent has garnered a loyal crowd of regulars at various bars in the area.

When Whitmore saw the short-lived Mingle (and before that, Flanagan’s Craft Pub) was for sale, she saw an opportunity in this prime real-estate and knew Vincent would be a great partner.

Because it was already a bar and restaurant, with a modestly sized kitchen — from which you can order grilled cheese, chili, chicken-parmesan sliders, shareable meat and cheese boards with pretzels or sausage — the duo had a quick turnaround last fall to opening the doors Jan. 1. Realizing their proximity to the Washington State Fairgrounds, and the region’s unending love for the bi-annual event, the theme fell into place.

“We knew initially we wanted to do something that was old-time Puyallup,” said Whitmore. That felt too generic, so they brainstormed names first. The Coaster had a nice ring to it, which led them to the Fair. The drinks and decor flowed; the Fair provides endless fodder.

They purposely left open space in the floor plan to allow for Fair-themed additions. Whitmore has her eyes on some vintage coaster cars — like from an actual “amusement coaster railway,” as a 1925 H.G. Traver blueprint framed in the back hallway reads — to refashion into tables. A guest said she got married at the Fair and would donate her wedding dress as memorabilia. On the tap wall at the end of the long bar, customers have pinned a few photos of cherished Fair memories, and the owners encourage the rest of us to share ours, too.

“Our goal is that whole thing is covered,” said Whitmore.

Fair imagery is everywhere, thanks to black-and-white images sourced from the Tacoma Public Library archives, enlarged and printed on metal: kids on the carousel, a fire-breathing artist (which I’m told hasn’t happened in a long time) and several fast-flying coaster shots.

Even the bathrooms are themed, with “Admit One” tickets in primary colors, a coaster decal and a sign near the mirror that reminds you: “coaster hair, don’t care.”

There’s a pool table, shuffleboard and board games, bar stools, several high-top tables and a big booth. They have designed the space and the concept to be one where perhaps you visit first for the novelty, but you come back for the laid-back vibe and amiable service.

Maybe you also need another duckie.

THE COASTER BAR - PUYALLUP

▪ 120 S. Meridian, Puyallup, 253-466-3744, facebook.com/thecoasterpuyallup

▪ 12-10 p.m. Sunday-Monday and Wednesday-Thursday, 12 p.m.-midnight Friday-Saturday (closed Tuesdays)

▪ Details: Fair-themed bar in downtown Puyallup, with light bites (from $3.50 chili to $17 boards) and kitschy cocktails (most $10-$11) plus beer, wine and full bar; games include shuffleboard and pool

This story was originally published January 27, 2023 at 5:00 AM.