The Silver Room Bar

With its pink-painted brick structure and faded signs in a mainly industrial area, The Silver Room Bar exudes a nondescript air. But once you go inside, you'll understand how this little gem, at 673 S. Plumer Ave., has remained alive since the 1940s. Wood-paneled walls, two TVs, a jukebox and two pool tables give the bar a familiar feel. The friendly regulars - after all, very few just happen upon this place - mostly perch on some of the 21 bar stools and add to the comfy ambience. A dozen or so neon beer signs also adorn The Silver Room's walls and help surround the bar's 10 tables. As for the patrons, many live within walking distance of the watering hole. Mike Gonzalez, 41, contrasted the feel of The Silver Room with that of any of the more impersonal chain bars around town. "It's more romantic eating beef jerky and drinking a beer in the parking lot," said Gonzalez, a plumber's assistant for Sun Mechanical. Dressed in a black T-shirt and white cowboy hat, Gonzalez said he's been hanging out at the Silver Room since the '80s, but he's cut back and now visits only on weekends. The Silver Room doesn't serve food, unless you count the range of peanuts and hangover remedies, from Rolaids to Tylenol, for sale - each item for a buck. Connected next door, however, Amelia's Sunrise Cafe cooks Mexican and American food and is open from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays. Budweiser and Bud Light cost $2 for either a draft pint or a bottle. The bar offers a full liquor selection, too, with the Morphine Drip being a fun pour for bartender Leslie Heiden (recipe on Page E3 in today's Accent).

 

"There's no happy hour here because everyone's always happy," Gonzalez quipped.

 

Heiden, 51, returned after an almost 30-year absence from working at The Silver Room. The friendly bartender's current stint has lasted more than a year. About the customers: "People stick together; it's like a family," Heiden said. "Eighty-five percent of the people who come in here, their parents and grandparents have been coming here."

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