Tacoma’s best ‘dive’ bar expands to 6th Ave with ginger beer, a top-tier old-fashioned
Did Sixth Avenue need another bar? For devotees of the piquant ginger beer and untouchable old fashioned at The Mule Tavern, the answer is a hard yes.
You should still make a point of hanging out at Sam Halhuli’s original haunt in South Tacoma, which turned 7 in July, but on other occasions, pop by Side Pony Lounge.
The bar officially opened Aug. 8 at 2914 6th Ave. Previously the taproom of Komadre Kombucha, it was also the first scoop shop for Tacoma’s Ice Cream Social. Only Halhuli could take this tight of a space, with modern walls and windows, and turn it inside out: Side Pony feels like it’s always been here.
He added black vinyl booths along the wall, raised the old counter to bar height, and installed lights that yield various shades of pink and indigo. The white-on-black logo — the top line of the S and the bottom of the Y extended — was designed by local sign artist Chris Sharp. A white Corvette bumper with blinking green lights and a Nevada plate that reads “GAMBLER” hangs on one wall, along with a menagerie of other vintage finds, which Halhuli chronicled live on Instagram over several months of hunting during construction, the trunk of his car piled with gold-framed paintings of mountains, a bearded man and a cottage somewhere. There’s a clown that’s kind of creepy and Tom Selleck with hands on hips, a couple of those Magic Eye illusion posters that were key to being a kid in the ‘90s, neon Pepsi and Coors Banquet signs.
“The Mule is definitely nostalgic in a way but in kind of an obtuse way,” said Halhuli. There it’s more along the lines of: “I think my grandma had that picture. Side Pony, it’s way more on the nose. Pepsi, Coke, Michael Jordan, Spuds MacKenzie, Tom Selleck.”
In trying to arrange a time for photographs, he asked if The News Tribune could visit after dark (in summer, post-9 p.m.) because that’s when the bar becomes itself.
“It’s also much brighter here,” laughed Halhuli. “I tried a curtain, but it didn’t work. I’m trying to lean into that it’s a little bit cleaner looking, if that makes sense.”
I, for one, think he made fine work of cultivating Side Pony in that lived-in, old-but-new dive bar aura.
Sitting there on a quiet Wednesday, chatting loudly with strangers (friends?) on a bar stool, I apologized to a solo man in glasses who sat for a nightcap at one of the high-tops near the clown. “Why?” he asked. “It’s a bar!”
Most of The Mule’s cocktails ($10-$12) grace the menu here, too, including the popular mules, each topped with housemade ginger beer bursting with sharp root flavor and the tang of fresh lemon: a dark and stormy (here called Black Flag), El Diablo (tequila and cassis), a Cardinal with custom cherry treacle and a Pimm’s cup. Make ‘em a “big boy” for just $4.
New to Side Pony is the signature Pink Pony, featuring Rainier gin, pineapple moonshine, lemon and Peychaud’s, and the Kid Hemingway, a rum sour that swaps the traditional egg white for the plant-based Wonderfoam.
Since opening in South Tacoma in 2016, Halhuli has secured a reputation for well-made cocktails with zero pretension. That bar attracts all walks of life, but over time he sensed there were enough fans who might have become regulars — if only they lived a little bit closer. As he explored locations for a sister spot, the Sixth Avenue business district wasn’t really on the table.
“Everybody comes into The Mule and says, ‘I haven’t seen you in a while. I’d come in more but I live up there,’” he told me. “So that’s one — and I don’t think there’s anything like us, period.”
Like The Mule, Side Pony is first and foremost a bar, but the liquor board requires food. So nosh on some Planter’s Cheez Balls! Or be a little fancy with warmed pistachios, vegan sloppy joes and brisket with grilled onions and white cheddar on a roll, the meats prepped by wholesale sandwich specialist Micah Tucker of Memoranda Kitchen. A simple but appropriately melty grilled cheese (vegan and gluten-free choices available) pairs with Tucker’s rosemary-tomato soup, served in a ramekin to dip. Who needs a spoon?
SIDE PONY LOUNGE
▪ 2914 6th Ave., Tacoma, 253-247-6314, sideponytacoma.com
▪ Tuesday-Sunday 3-11ish (until 2 a.m. weekends)
▪ Details: sister bar to The Mule Tavern, with housemade ginger beer and tonic, great cocktails and a few snacks
This story was originally published August 12, 2023 at 8:00 AM.