History by the Glass

No better bar story in Portland than that of Huber's On Dec. 27, 2019, we donned our gay apparel (tuxedo t-shirts, obviously) for an old school holiday special at the two oldest bars in Portland -- Jake's Famous Crawfish (est. 1892) and Huber's (est. 1879). Yes, like one of Dean Martin's classics from the '60s, we classed it up and drank it up, before, during, and after as we explored the fantastical, magnificent, 100% original histories of these two remarkable downtown venues. We shared the story of the legendary Way Fung "Jim" Louie overcoming a national plague of anti-Chinese rhetoric to become one of Portland's most beloved bar and restaurant proprietors at Huber's. And we tell you how, a few blocks away, Jacob Freiman employs his  mastery of locally plentiful crawfish and bon vivant attitude to make Jake's the go-to spot for the city's discerning drinkers in the early 20th century. You want bar history? You want bar history?