Accordion Club

Durham, North Carolina

Field Note

It is natural to be a bit wary of dive bars found in generally trendy parts of town with opening dates anytime after let’s say 1989. Durham’s Accordion Club suffers two such strikes, opened in 2017 and located in close proximity to a string of modern bars occupying a reclaimed portion of Durham’s north side. But affordable late-night hot dogs can do wonders for the appeal of a corner bar, just one of Accordion Club’s qualities that more than qualify it for a visit.

Owner Scott Richie saw potential in what was at that time the El Kilombo Intergalactico internet cafe along Geer Street in a quickly developing plot of north Durham. Longtime bartender and veteran of managing late night stops, Richie named Accordion Club after his grandfather, a traveling accordion player. The Geer Street district to which Accordion Club partially occupies what used to be La Costena market, contributing to the vaguely industrial appeal of the space.

No dive bar drinker among us is unfamiliar with the hunger that can sometimes arise during a late night sprint through a beer or ten. Where Accordion Club excels is in offering familiar, late night basics with slight twists that make something like a dive bar hot dog sound much more appealing than the title would suggest. The food at Accordion Club covers those two great late night staples, hot dogs and you guessed it, Frito Pies.

Housed in an old school hot dog warmer, available hot dog varieties range from traditional options to more exotic departures like the pimento cheese dog or the green chile dog inspired by Richie’s time spent in New Mexico. For those unfamiliar with the Frito Pie, the high-class concoction consists of a split-open bag of Fritos topped with a variety of meats and condiments. The Accordion Club spin on the Frito Pie includes a choose-your-adventure slate of options that often includes items like sauerkraut and kimchi.

Nods to the bar’s late night food selection can be found in the form of designs scrawled on hot dog-shaped napkins posted behind the bar, depicting all manner of evening scribble. The space itself fits into a slender footprint, a small room up front divided by a pair of archways and housing the bar’s pool table. The main space in straightforward, long bar on one side of the room, seating along the opposite wall.

For those justifiably worried that a bar so new is more a dive-themed business rather than a true dive bar, the bare bones nature of the space makes Accordion Club feel like a proper entry in Durham’s dive bar inventory. Exposed brick, simple metal shelves, natural-looking wood along the bar, the details here that can sometimes feel artificial in let’s say that new brewery down the street instead come off as authentic.

With a bare bones structure and a hot dog roller behind the bar, it should come as no surprise that the vibe within Accordion Club is a mellow one. Other beverage options nearby seem to run a bit hotter, Accordion Club instead attracting either a mellow crowd, or a sufficiently fed pack of drinking veterans drawn to an authentic spot and readily available pimento cheese.