The energetic hum of voices, the clink of glasses, and the familiar kiss of pool balls rolling down the green felt tables — State Street Bar’s doors are finally open once more.
“It felt like walking into a rich kid’s basement, you know that popular kid at your school that has a dad, that’s kind of loaded but also wants to be cool,” said Gia Seese, a State Street Bar regular. “With the pool tables, it smells really nice, and that really big glass case with old beer memorabilia.”
Following more than a year of waiting, the bar reopened on Friday, April 11, after a devastating fire forced it to close its doors in January 2024.
“I went in line before the whole line came. Ten minutes later, it was around the building. I just watched as each of my friends had to wait in line,” Seese said. “(The bar) started holding off people, and it became maximum occupancy. They put you in line like you’re at Disneyland. It was fun.”
The overwhelming turnout caught both patrons and staff off guard.
“The first night we were open, oh my goodness. I think all of Bellingham tried showing up at one point,” said Adam Groen, manager of State Street Bar.
Julia Miller bartended that hectic Friday swing shift, from 9 p.m. till after 2 a.m.
“I loved it. There was a never-ending line out the door,” Miller said. “It was good to see all those people wanting to get a taste of what the new State Street looked like.”
The bar went up in flames on Jan. 3, 2024, due to a bar fryer igniting. Despite the fire, no structural damage was reported.
“(The fryer) just failed, which is so scary that something you can use every day can start that big of a fire all of a sudden,” Groen said. “The fire department was up in those windows in minutes.”
Morgan Farinas lived a mere block away and watched the smoke billow from the bar through her window.
“It was heartbreaking. It felt like Bellingham had nothing going for it,” Farinas said. “Every weekday, we’d come out here and knit and play puzzles at the tables. On the weekends we’d get hammered and play pool, air hockey, ski ball and take photos in the photo booth.”
The same sentiment was felt from those filling glasses and filing tabs.
“It was really sad and devastating. This is a place where a lot of people in town like to gather, and a lot of people have good, strong memories here,” said Samantha Hildman, a State Street bartender.
This was the bar's third re-opening of the past five years — or, as a shirt in the bar says, this was the “re-re-re-opening.” But while the doors are open once again, something still feels missing to the people who’ve spent years coming, Miller said.
What they miss most isn’t just the drinks or the music — it’s the history soaked into every surface.
“It’s probably the memories that it withheld. There was so much stuff on the wall. The photo booth and everything,” said Miller. “It definitely needs some dirt and grime.”
Farinas agreed, lamenting the loss of the bar's old charm.
“It’s too clean now. It’s not grimy enough. It smells nice, and that really infuriates me,” she said. “It's lost its character.”
For Hildman, it was the personal touches that made the place special.
“I miss that feeling of coming in, being like, there are pictures of my friends. Notes that my friends wrote. That’s a note that says get home safe, and just the little things like that,” she said. “We’ll get back to it. It’ll just take some time to break in the bar again.”
But on the bright side, the bar is back, and barring any setbacks, better than ever, according to Groen.
“We’re trying to rebuild the homey, comfy dive vibe by putting things back up on the walls, and it’ll take some time to get back where we were,” Hildman said. “I feel like it’s breathing a good new life into it.”
Though the space has changed, some familiar elements remain. The bar still sports two pool tables in the back, a dollar a game, along with air hockey and skee ball. The iconic office chairs that once filled the space have been replaced with booths, giving it a more spacious and comfortable feel.
“We're open again. That's what we're excited for. We have food coming. We have specials coming, everything will be there,” Groen said. “We're just excited that it's open now.”
Josh Maritz (he/him) is a city news reporter for The Front this quarter. He is a third-year environmental journalism student at Western with a minor in economics. In his free time, he enjoys going for long trail runs and listening to '90s grunge. You can reach him at joshmaritz.thefront@gmail.com.
