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There's a surprisingly romantic story behind the new Crackerjacks (2788 NW Thurman St., 503-222-9069).
Thirteen years ago, the Slabtown dive was the first place new manager Lizzy Spanbauer got a job. A bit after that, she started dating her now-fiance, Sean Brazie—they live in the neighborhood, so their first date was at the only other nearby dive, Joe's Cellar. About two weeks into the relationship, Spanbauer was serving and Brazie was drinking.
The bar's former owner, "who was kinda notorious for being an asshole," she says, yelled at Spanbauer in front of Brazie, who stood up for her and got 86'ed from the place for life. "Sean said, 'If you leave right now, I'll take care of you,' so I grabbed my tip jar and walked out," Spanbauer says. But Brazie wasn't done making promises. "I'm going to buy you that bar someday," he told her.
Well, it took a while, but Brazie and business partner Jason Vaden did just that. Spanbauer took over the moribund Crackerjacks on March 14 and immediately started working to change the vibe—refurbishing the patio, bringing back Jell-O shots (sour cherry, recently), adding a pingpong table, and planning monthly parties.
The dim, paneled pub looks much the same, and the staff is the same, but the energy is different. And the bottom line is different, too—the bar went from doing $700 of business a day to an average of $1,600, she says. "I worked here on and off for 6½ years," Spanbauer says, "so I'm trying to bring it back to the good, old-school vibe." So far, she's doing a great job.
Willamette Week