Keys Lounge Is a Neighborhood Key Shop Turned Midcentury Rumpus Room

Keys Lounge may not have existed back in your dad’s bachelor days, but owners Brian Alfrey and Mike Gadberry have done a fine job of convincing you he would have hung out there.

(Walker Stockly)
By Pete Cottell

533 NE Killingsworth St., 503-719-7409, keyspdx.com. 3 pm-2 am daily. Happy hour 3-7 pm and 11 pm-2 am daily: $4 craft beer and cider, food specials.

Keys Lounge may not have existed back in your dad's bachelor days, but owners Brian Alfrey and Mike Gadberry have done a fine job of convincing you he would have hung out there. The pair behind Northeast Alberta Street's Radio Room have converted the former King neighborhood key shop into a midcentury rumpus room that tastefully toes the line between swank and kitsch, decked out in wood paneling, Persian rugs and booths of deep red leather. Animated Rainier and Olympia signs hang above a massive wall of vinyl overlooking the DJ booth where, on a recent visit, a DJ spun international psych from the likes of Dungen and Can. The indoor fire pit was packed with bartenders from nearby establishments, a few of whom voiced their allegiance to the Classic Burger—a third-pound patty doused in house mayo, chopped onion and iceberg that's essentially a high-end Big Mac, and only $6 during happy hour. Located on a quiet block of Killingsworth, Keys' strongest suit may be that it's a retro den of casual comfort that's out of reach of itinerant Alberta bar crawlers.

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