by Mark Van Streefkerk
Georgetown’s Jules Maes Saloon reopened under new ownership on January 12, but don’t expect much to change — owner Raché Hemmelgarn loves the historic saloon just as it is. Built in 1888, the watering hole on Airport Way hails from a time when Georgetown was the sixth-largest beer-producing district in the world, well-known for its gambling and vice. Sandwiched between the Duwamish Waterway and the train tracks, Georgetown’s outsider attitude (it was annexed by Seattle in 1910) remains largely intact. According to Hemmelgarn, what’s not to love?
“I’m not surprised by any of it,” Hemmelgarn said about the neighborhood’s infamous history. “I’m super excited to be in Georgetown. You can’t box anybody in here. Everybody’s welcome. You get everything from blue collar to white collar to punk to whatever. You walk in [Jules Maes] and it pretty much looks exactly like it [always] did.”
Continue reading Jules Maes’ New Owner Preserves Legacy of One of Seattle’s Oldest Bars