Joe Bar Cafe

10/18/2022

**Last Day Update**
Our last day has changed and will now be Tuesday October 25th. Sorry for any confusion.
Drawing of the original Joe Bar by Jazz-minh Moore.

10/11/2022

Dear Joe Bar friends and family,

There is no easy way to say this, Joe Bar is closing. Our last day of operation will be Wednesday, October 26th.

I don’t quite have the words to express how much the Joe Bar community means to me and how much that little vessel, that is Joe Bar, fills me with joy. But my love and spirit can no longer keep the reality of business and those who lord over the land in check.

While it's technically true that I own Joe Bar--my name is on the lease, and closing is solely my decision--the reality is this place belongs to the people of Capitol Hill. Since I took over ownership 22 years ago (!!!), I've operated Joe Bar more as a community service than a typical business, for better or worse. The door has remained open for dozens of dedicated employees and thousands of enthusiastic customers, and they've helped make it their own funky refuge, hospitable and dependable in an insanely changing city. Countless artists have showcased their work and reflected the neighborhood's restless creativity, inspiring more artists, many of whom have gone on to long-lasting careers at the top of their field, to do the same. It's all of ours. Anyone who's been to Joe Bar knows how rare and special it is, and I'm telling you now that it's always been the people who love it who make it that way. To each of you I want to express my profound gratitude. This has been the experience of a lifetime.

I need to make sure that you all know that I have worked with many amazing people at Joe Bar. All of them dedicated while they were behind the bar but it is Devon who helped keep Joe Bar dancing as I went about trying new ventures here and there. Devon is mine and Joe Bar’s ever steadfast rock. Thank you Devon for your ever steady dedication, hard work and humor.

We will not be closing without a little flare. We have an incredible group art show curated by Ben Beres. It is titled “The End” and features works by 38 artists. We will be hosting a closing party Friday, October 14 from 5pm - 9pm. Come see what Joe Bar means before it is a memory.

With love and gratitude,
Wylie Bush

Amazing Joe Bar art by Jed Dunkerley

10/03/2022

🚨 TINY DANCES ALERT 🚨
This Saturday October 8th we will be hosting another installment of the Cornish Dance Department's Tiny Dances at 7:30pm. We will close at 3pm like normal and then re-open from 6:30pm-9pm for drinks only. It's going to be crowded, so bring a mask if you feel like it. Hope to see you!

08/28/2022

Due to some last minute staffing issues we will be closed Sunday August 28th. Sorry for the short notice and hope everyone has an otherwise great Sunday.

04/20/2022

Pardon us for this baseball interruption. Change isn't always bad, but it sure can be weird and make you make funny faces. Here's a story about change and new traditions that Devon captured with a video at a Mariner's game this last Friday night. The whole article is fun, but some quotes and the video in question are at the end of the article. Special appearances by our former curator Ben and employee Peter.

The biggest talking point early in the Mariners' season is their decision not to play "Louie Louie" after "Take Me Out To The Ballgame" at T-Mobile Park.

01/26/2022

Window removal is complete and we'll be back to our regular hours of 9am-3pm starting tomorrow! Come on in and tell us how much our windows remind you of Wordle 😂

01/25/2022

Sadly the window removal is going slower than we'd hoped and we'll have to be closed tomorrow Tuesday the 25th as well ☹️. Hang in there and we'll be back and ready for you on Wednesday morning.

01/24/2022

Back in October we had someone try and etch/rebrand our windows with 6's and pentagrams. While we whole heartledly support the arts, we are disappointed in the artistic ex*****on in this case. So we will be closed Monday January 24th so the windows can be replaced. Sorry to do this to you on a Monday!