Bar X Closes

If your fond of glass tankards of 3.2 Bud & peanuts I have some very sad news for you. Bar X one of Salt lake City's most infamous dive bars will be closing it's doors tomorrow (7/9/10).

Building owner Gary Tedesco, whose grandfather Feno opened the bar near the end of prohibition has decided not renew the lease to current Bar X owner Charmayne Clingman and the bar is to be no more.

The influx of full service bars with microbrews and hard liquor make for a tough sell, when looking for other locations for a tavern that serves up bowls of peanuts and nothing stronger than 3.2 Budweiser

One of the things that made Bar X so infamous over it's long tenure downtown was it's "No Women Allowed Policy". In 1986, a judge ruled that anti-discrimination statutes applied to clubs. The owner at the time, Mayne Clingman, was so angry he refused to install a women’s restroom until forced by the state Health Department.

Charmayne, his daughter and namesake, contends the addition of a women’s room had more to do with the demolition of the kitchen, which provided enough room for a single stall and a wash basin.

Still, former longtime bartender Clyde Triptow, who worked into his 80s, often ignored women who happened in for a beer. That pugnacious stance didn’t get him into trouble with his boss. Mayne Clingman didn’t care much for women customers either, said current bartender Lynda Anderson.

He supposedly thought women would steal the Bar X’s thick tankards, one of its main measures of fame. Over the years, many a man downed icy cold beer poured into the thermos-like glasses.

If you'd like to say goodbye or visit a piece of local history one last time, Bar X is located at 155 E. 200 South in downtown SLC.

And a reminder that tonight is Erica Palmer's last night tending bar at the Bayou. Go in and send her off right.

Cheers!

Source: Salt Lake Tribune/ Photos courtesy Chris Detrick | The Salt Lake Tribune.