Former pro skater Mickey Reyes once got kicked off a plane in Detroit for rabbit-punching skater Tony Trujillo over and over. He took out one of Jim Thiebaud's teeth with a knife. He told Vice he used to keep a loaded gun in every room in the house, and had "way too many knives." But now? He's got a nice little bar called Cat's Paw Saloon (3565 SE Division St., 503-719-5189) in a former shoe-repair shop on Division Street. "I know he's got a bad boy reputation," says our bartender. "But I haven't seen it."
Sure, there are remnants of the bad old days—a Dogtown poster signed by everyone who matters, skull art on the walls and some Spitfire skate-wheel coasters advertising joke beers named after pro-skater friends of Reyes, whether Justin Brock Bock or Cardi-ale Pale. But tiny, wood-grained Cat's Paw is otherwise a pretty chill place.
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And on chichi Division Street, it's a refuge of slightly punky sanity, already evolving into a service-industry hang for the type of kitchen staff who like their Jack Daniels with a mini-grenade of High Life. There's Pfriem pilsner on the taps and Stiegl Radler in the fridge, and refreshing $9 cocktails with hints of lavender in them. There's also a nice, half-covered patio out back decorated with twinned black-and-white skateboards: the deck of LOVE and the deck of HATE.
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Between Cat’s Paw and punk-rock pizzeria Atlas across the street, plus the always-closed goth bookstore next door, Division Street still hangs on to some old Portland grit, even if here it comes scented with lavender.