New year, new post! This time we’re off to Phoenix, Arizona to a little placed called Swizzle Inn. Apparently there’s a slogan associated with the name of the bar – “Swizzle Inn, Swagger Out!” I came upon the Swizzle Inn by chance because I was actually attempting to go to another dive bar, but it was closed. When I pulled up to Swizzle Inn, it was in the back corner building of a strip mall and I could only tell that it was open by the few patrons standing outside smoking cigarettes. I was honestly debating whether or not to go in – but boy am I glad I did!
When I walked into Swizzle, I knew it was going to be a good time simply because of the lighting. There are strings of Christmas lights all around the bar and I think that any of my dive bar fans out there will agree that this is the hallmark of a good dive bar. The bar is very small and intimate and the bartender was a woman who knows not to take shit from anyone (hi Courtney!). I took a seat on the righthand side of the bar and ordered a Bud Light (yeah, yeah – I know). Cue in a guy we’ll call John who asked me if I had “caught the game” on tv earlier. As someone who doesn’t follow any sports in any form, I asked him what sports ball game he was referring to. Something, something football… and that was the end of John, for now.
I started talking to the guy who came and sat next to me and he was a very nice, laidback Uber Driver from California. We talked about our jobs and where we thought would be the perfect location to live – somewhere warm, not too expensive, and still a big city feel with lots of activities… surprise, it’s Phoenix. We got into talking a lot about Phoenix and how no one who was born there ends up staying there. So naturally, I had to ask everyone within earshot of me where they were originally from. Only ONE person was Phoenix born and raised, so it looks like Uber driver was correct. It was a nice little chat and I hope you get all five-star reviews and lots of rides in 2020 Uber Driver!
I sat at the bar for a bit just hanging out and watching the people around me – there were some games over on the other side of the bar that people were playing. One guy who had been there since I arrived that was bellowing across the bar – something about being a know-it-all, but I can’t remember his exact words. The bartender introduced herself to me and I pretended to watch whatever sports ball game that was on the TV.
John was still there on my left knocking back some beers and another guy came and sat beside me – we’ll call him Juan. Juan was a 40 something guy who worked as a waiter in a restaurant. He had just gotten off work and decided to grab a couple of beers before going home to pack for a trip to Disneyland with his daughters the next day. He asked if he could buy me a beer, but I declined. I talked to Juan for a little bit before turning to the woman next to me to ask her what she was looking at on her phone. She was searching for pictures of birds for her new tattoo. Regrettably, I don’t remember what type of bird (I think it was an eagle) or the symbolism of the bird, but we chatted for a bit before she headed out, which left only John to my left again. At this point, Jon had been there longer than I had and eventually we struck up a conversation. I asked him what he did for work and he started talking about his ties to the mafia, which I didn’t buy for a second. I indulged in his stories and asked about his family ties. I’ll admit that John did have a pretty good handle on mafia history, so that was a fun conversation. But I wasn’t the only one who didn’t buy John’s story and Juan decided he would stick around for another beer. Juan was looking out and reassured me that he had two teenage daughters and was concerned that I was actually buying whatever stories John was spinning. I told him that I wasn’t new to the game, but thanks for looking out Juan! I closed my tab and was about to head out when John’s friend eventually came to pick him up.
I swaggered back to my perfect, little midcentury modern style Airbnb solo (no worries, mom) and called it a night. Thanks for all the memories Swizzle Inn!
