Market Street Pub owner Tara Bird discusses the story behind her mustache tattoo Thursday afternoon in Chehalis.
Tara Bird, the new owner of Market Street Pub in Chehalis, discusses taking over the bar Thursday afternoon.
Market Street Pub owner Tara Bird jokes with one of her customers Thursday afternoon in Chehalis.
A former colleague once told Tara Bird that she would never own a bar. Only people with mustaches owned bars, this person said. Bird responded by tattooing a mustache on her index finger and holding it above her upper lip next time the two met.
Bird officially took over Market Street Pub in August 2018. Since then, she has added gambling, uncluttered the walls, reorganized, added more seating, run new beer lines, added more refrigerator space and just generally tightened the place up. She also has DirecTV and Comcast for every sports game.
“I have always known that I wanted to buy a bar,” Bird said. “I went to school — I was a medical assistant and I hated it. It was disgusting, I got treated like crap and I didn’t make any money. The entire time I was in school, I was either bartending or serving and finally one day I just said ‘You know, it’s not worth it anymore.’ I love the industry, I love bartending, I love serving, I love people.”
For the last 18 years, Bird has worked in the service industry. Fourteen of those years have been as a bartender. When she realized she had gone as far as she could go as a bartender and manager, she started saving money and making moves to purchase her own establishment.
“The first three months, everything kept breaking and I had to replace all kinds of stuff,” Bird said. “There were a couple times where I was like, ‘I’m in over my head.’ Then I realized that it’s the next step to the learning process to do more than to just be the bartender or be a manager. I’ve been very, very fortunate because everybody around me has been so incredibly helpful.”
Bird said she has worked everywhere from mom and pop shops, to corporate nightclubs. She even owned a coffee stand for a year.
“This is the atmosphere that I have always loved, is that hometown … everybody knows your name,” Bird said. “It’s just a really comfortable environment for me and I love how close all the regulars are here with the staff, with each other. It’s very comforting to see the camaraderie here.”
That camaraderie, Bird said, has come in handy more than once.
“A bunch of the regulars around here have all been helpful,” Bird said. “They help me carry stuff in — they help me fix stuff all the time. They will see me with a screwdriver and a ladder, and they know that I’m up to something. Nine out of 10 times they know I am going to do it the hard way, so they help me with it.”
Gary “Spanky” Mitchell has worked as a cook at Market Street Pub for the last five years. He commented on one of the times he saw a customer help Bird put together a table.
“Whenever anything happens, there is always a regular ready to volunteer a pickup truck, or a sturdy back or a hammer, if needed,” Mitchell said. “… It’s their bar, too.”
Bird credited the previous owner for setting her up for success and giving the bar a good reputation. She also said the staff has been fantastic.
“Before I officially took over, I introduced myself to everybody to let them know that, you know, I’m not coming in to take anyone’s livelihoods away,” Bird said. “I’m just going to work my way into the schedule wherever it works and however it works. I know how to bartend and serve very well, so I just had to relearn the kitchen, really.”
Bird said she wants to maintain the pub’s current dynamic.
“The way that it is with all the regulars now, I call them the ‘pub loyals,’” Bird said. “... I want everyone to continue keeping this place as their local waterhole.”
Market Street Pub
Owner: Tara Bird
Contact: (360) 748-6777
Location: 523 N Market Blvd in Chehalis
