Beloved Punk Dive Bar B-Side Tavern Has Finally Reopened Following a Long Recovery from Fire Damage

The East Burnside dive's regulars have already begun to return, despite the fact that the opening was largely unannounced.

By Shannon Gormley

More than a year and a half after a fire forced it to close, B-Side Tavern is back.

Early on a September morning in 2017, a fire that started on the bar's back patio spread to its interior. The East Burnside dive, which was immortalized in a Red Fang music video, has been closed since then.

But on Monday, B-Side quietly reopened. According to owner Tanya Frantzen, the regulars have already begun to return, despite the fact that the opening was largely unannounced.

"Our people have been waiting, and they're excited," she says. "I think it will just pick up where it left off"

B-Side first announced that it would reopen last summer, but the repairs have been slow. A change of contractors delayed construction until last September, and the patio still has not yet been replaced. Frantzen says B-Side has gone back and forth with the permit office since December.

“Every time we thought we were close, the permit office would have some other thing that we need to do,” she says. “So we just decided that we would rather open without the patio.”

With the exception of the patio, B-Side has returned to normal and resumed daily business hours. Frantzen isn't planning any grand opening celebrations and is hesitation to drum up fanfare.

"I don't want to make a big deal about it. I feel like the B-Side is sort of a staple in the neighborhood and I want it to feel like it's always been there," she says. "We tried our best to make it look and feel the same as it used to be, and I think we did pretty well."

Related: B-Side is Portland's Punk Rock Smoking Patio

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