Inside, the space resembles a season’s worth of American Pickers episodes, with all manner of metal signs dotting the walls, interspersed with a little bit of beer neon just to complete the look (I see you, Pabst). A short, and I mean short, bar area borders the open-air flat top and provides the best sense of the space, the fastest route to a cold beer and a clear line of sight to meat smashed and grilled. Though signage inside is quick to make the distinction that GoldenLight is certainly no fast food joint, the food whipped out of the kitchen on this reviewer’s last visit, burger after burger off to a steady stream of customers.
Beyond the bar, low, long tables make up the rest of the seating, a single row opposite the bar and a few more in back as the room opens up into a slightly larger space. But the old West prison aesthetic extends to the square footage inside, and this is no open concept roadhouse. The intimate quarters do, however, fit the ambiance of the place, the history, the food, the beer, to position the small area as a plus rather than a minus.
Amid the metal soda signs and beer lights, more original offerings dot the wall, from a mural depicting what look to be a set of regulars across one wall, to a series of framed, aging photos and newspaper clippings throughout the space hinting at the space’s immense history and longevity. The imagery conveys well the feeling that this is a place well-loved and well lived in both through the series of owners who have cared for the space as well as the regulars that have kept it alive for so long.
