{{Short description|Type of drinking establishment}} {{Use dmy dates|date=September 2020}}
[[File:Dive Bar Merrimaker.jpg|thumb|Dive bar 'The Merrimaker' in Los Osos, California]]
A '''dive bar''' is typically a small, unglamorous, eclectic, old-style drinking establishment with inexpensive drinks; it may feature dim lighting, shabby or dated decor, neon beer signs, packaged beer sales, cash-only service, and local clientele.<ref name="chicagotrib">{{cite news |last1=Vivanco |first1=Leonor |title=Divers' Education |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/232249604 |access-date=4 July 2020 |issue=Red-eye Chicago Magazine |publisher=Chicago Tribune |date=19 December 2008 |page=8}}</ref> The precise definition of a dive bar is rarely agreed on, and is the subject of spirited debates.<ref name="longestboston">{{cite web |last1=Longest |first1=Knoefel |title=What We Talk About When We Talk About Dive Bars |url=https://boston.eater.com/2014/10/23/7046703/what-we-talk-about-when-we-talk-about-dive-bars |website=bostoneater.com |publisher=Vox Media |access-date=4 July 2020 |date=23 October 2014 |archive-date=4 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200704174613/https://boston.eater.com/2014/10/23/7046703/what-we-talk-about-when-we-talk-about-dive-bars |url-status=live }}</ref> The term ''dive'' was first used in the press in the U.S. in the 1880s to describe disreputable places that were often in basements into which one "dives below".<ref name="diveincovid">{{cite news |last1=Garbarino |first1=Steve |title=Beer and a Shot of Hand Sanitizer: Dive Bars Try Cleaning Up |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/beer-and-a-shot-of-hand-sanitizer-dive-bars-try-cleaning-up-11595273825?page=1 |access-date=May 28, 2021 |issue=13 |publisher=Wall Street Journal |date=July 20, 2020 |volume=276|url-access=subscription}}</ref>{{rp|1}} Dive bars are known as "brown bars" or "brown pubs" in parts of Western Europe and Northern Europe, for example ''brun bar'' or ''brun pub'' in Norway.<ref name="Nordbø 2022 g559">{{cite web | last=Nordbø | first=Harald | title=Ut på byen? Her er din guide til 20 av Oslos bruneste puber | website=VartOslo | date=2022-02-11 | url=https://vartoslo.no/andys-pub-bydelskroa-ellingsrud-senter/ut-pa-byen-her-er-din-guide-til-20-av-oslos-bruneste-puber/355334 | language=nb | access-date=2023-07-13 | archive-date=13 July 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230713192734/https://vartoslo.no/andys-pub-bydelskroa-ellingsrud-senter/ut-pa-byen-her-er-din-guide-til-20-av-oslos-bruneste-puber/355334 | url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Lindbaek 2014 m655">{{cite web | last=Lindbaek | first=Gudmund | title=Brun bar med grønne miks-varianter | website=King Goya | date=2014-04-06 | url=https://kinggoya.no/brun-bar-med-gronne-miks-varianter/ | language=nb | access-date=2023-07-13 | archive-date=13 July 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230713192736/https://kinggoya.no/brun-bar-med-gronne-miks-varianter/ | url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Isdal Tilrem Stenshagen 2023 c851">{{cite web | last=Isdal | first=Helge Tollan | last2=Tilrem | first2=Martin | last3=Stenshagen | first3=Victoria Lillejord | title=Jakten på Trondheims bruneste pub | website=Underdusken.no | date=2023-02-26 | url=https://underdusken.no/uteliv/jakten-pa-trondheims-bruneste-pub/311547 | language=nb | access-date=2023-07-13 | archive-date=13 July 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230713192735/https://underdusken.no/uteliv/jakten-pa-trondheims-bruneste-pub/311547 | url-status=live }}</ref>
==Description== [[File:Dive bar decor.jpg|thumb|Typical dive bar decor, with neon Budweiser signs]] Once considered a pejorative term, "dive bar" has more recently become a badge of distinction from patrons who seek authenticity in such establishments.<ref name="conasewers">{{cite news |last1=Marshall |first1=John |title=Dive Bar Connoisseurs |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/542017625/ |access-date=6 July 2020 |agency=Associated Press |issue=41 |publisher=The Herald (Dubois County, Indiana |date=24 November 2009 |volume=115 |page=13}}</ref> Devotees may describe a bar as "very divey" or "not divey" and compose rating scales of "divey-ness".<ref name="nycwendy">{{cite book |last1=Mitchell |first1=Wendy |title=New York City's Best Dive Bars:Drinking and Diving in the Five Boroughs |date=2003 |publisher=Ig |location=New York |isbn=0-9703125-3-9 |page=3 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HrG8nd6NrpYC&q=dive+bar |access-date=5 July 2020}}</ref> One such devotee is Steve Vensen, founder of a California group called the DBC (Dive Bar Conoisseurs) who says, "Every dive bar is like a snowflake: diverse and unique{{nbs}}[...] you always get local subculture and every time is an adventure."<ref name="conasewers"/>{{rp|13}} Author Todd Dayton offers the following: "Dives [dive bars] are like pornography: hard to define but you know it when you see it".<ref name="daytonquote">{{cite book |last1=Dayton |first1=Todd |title=San Francisco's Best Dive Bars |date=2004 |publisher=Ig Pub |location=New York |isbn=0-9703125-8-X |page=4 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LpUSVjBPHRwC&q=dive+bars+in+san+francisco |access-date=4 July 2020}}</ref> As to what distinguishes a dive bar from an ordinary bar, Dayton stated in 2004: {{quote|text=For me, the ideal dive bar is run by a beefy guy named Frank, where the aroma of yesterday's beer still hangs in the air, and your quest for clean bathrooms (or toilet paper, for that matter) will go eternally unanswered. A bottle of Bud costs two bucks, a shot of Jack, $3, and Pabst Blue Ribbon is served in a can. The sign outside says Steaks, Dinners, {{nowrap|Cocktails{{px2}}{{mdash}}{{px2}}}}but there hasn't been any food served since FDR was president. The prevailing decorative elements are red Naugahyde, wood-toned Formica, and cinder blocks.<ref name="daytonquote"/>}}
Dive bars traditionally only adhered to the minimal effort needed to provide guests with drinks; i.e., they typically do not advertise, provide parking, or have fancy signage.<ref name="longestboston"/> Dive bars are not known for their food.<ref name="nycwendy"/>{{rp|3}} They often do not serve food beyond pretzels and snacks.<ref name="nycwendy"/> For example, in 2018 a visitor to a well-known Nashville dive bar reported seeing a hand-written menu taped to the refrigerator, listing only pork rinds, popcorn, peanuts, and microwaved corn dogs (US $1).<ref name="franseast">{{cite web |last1=Rodgers |first1=D. Patrick |title=Fran's Eastside Is the Best Dive Bar in Nashville |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/frans-eastside-is-the-best-dive-bar-in-nashville/ |website=vice.com |publisher=Vice edai |access-date=27 July 2020 |date=10 December 2018 |archive-date=27 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200727162411/https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/kzvnby/frans-eastside-is-the-best-dive-bar-in-nashville |url-status=live }}</ref> Dive bar bathrooms are usually in poor repair, with stalls occasionally enclosed by a shower curtain instead of a door. Transactions are typically cash-only, handled directly by the bartender and rarely involve computerized registers. The owner or a family member often tends bar. Patrons range widely in background and occupation, including locals who have remained regular customers for many years.<ref name="chicagotrib"/>
During the COVID-19 pandemic of the early 2020s, U.S. cities closed down bars and food service establishments, and many dive bar owners made repairs and cleaned up while they were closed down. Rick Dobbs, author of the 2019 book ''Local Spirit: Neighborhood Bars of Orleans Parish'', said, "A dive can absolutely be cleaned up but still be a dive... it's the character and spirit of the space that counts".<ref name="diveincovid"/>{{rp|1}} The news website SFGate recently covered the ongoing discussion over the definition of a "dive bar", whether it is the character or decor that make a "dive bar", and whether or not the image of the ''Merrimaker'' featured in this article still qualifies due to an extensive remodel in 2019.<ref name="SFGate">{{cite news |last1=Black |first1=Lester |title=Wikipedia's favorite dive bar is hiding in a sleepy California beach town |url=https://www.sfgate.com/centralcoast/article/wikipedia-favorite-dive-bar-calif-beach-town-20765220.php |work=SFGate |date=24 July 2025}}</ref>
==See also== * Drinking culture * Flat-roofed pub * Honky-tonk * List of dive bars * Roadhouse * Speakeasy * Types of drinking establishments
==References== {{Reflist}}
==Further reading== * {{cite book|first=Pete |last=Hamill|title=A Drinking Life: A Memoir|url={{google books |plainurl=y |id=DPUe90H4rD0C}}|date=14 December 2008|publisher=Little, Brown|isbn=978-0-316-05453-9}} * {{cite book|first=J. R. |last=Moehringer|title=The Tender Bar: A Memoir|url={{google books |plainurl=y |id=9TqZAAAAQBAJ}}|date=1 September 2005|publisher=Hachette Books|isbn=978-1-4013-8341-1}} * {{cite book | last1=Stockton | first1=J. | last2=Okun | first2=W. | title=Chicago's Best Dive Bars: Drinking and Diving in the Windy City | publisher=Ig Publishing, Incorporated | series=Best Dive Bars Series | year=2004 | isbn=978-0-9752517-0-6 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SCV41cnj_3wC}} 150 pages.
{{Drinking establishments}} {{Bartend}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dive Bar}} Category:Dive bars