Jules Maes Saloon is by some accounts the oldest bar in
Seattle
Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...
, in the
U.S. state
In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...
of
Washington
Washington most commonly refers to:
* George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States
* Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States
* Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States
** A ...
.
It opened in 1888 in the city's
Georgetown neighborhood. The building it occupies, "The Brick Store", at 5919 Airport Way at the corner of Nebraska, is listed as a Seattle Historic Site.
History
The bar first opened in a building at 5953 Airport Way South (before it was called Airport Way, for nearby
Boeing Field
King County International Airport , commonly Boeing Field, is a public airport owned and operated by King County, Washington, King County, south of downtown Seattle, in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington. The airport is sometimes r ...
) under a different name.
It was purchased by Jules Gustaf Maes, a Belgian-born bartender, who eventually changed its name and moved it to the 5919 building.
The back room was once used as a bookie joint.
The bar was owned by June Espelend for a period. John and Vanessa LeMaster, who had owned it since 2005, closed it during the
coronavirus pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
.
It was reopened by Raché Hemmelgarn in January 2021.
References
External links
*
{{Restaurants in Seattle
1888 establishments in Washington Territory
Drinking establishments in Washington (state)
Georgetown, Seattle
Restaurants disestablished due to the COVID-19 pandemic
Restaurants in Seattle
Restaurants established in 1888