At a passing glance, the space might feel like a boarded-up, hollowed-out used-to-be-something structure, the freshly painted walls still largely bare, a short set of steps leading to the bar’s front door flanked by a stark metal railing. But the interior provides stark contrast to the simple exterior, the welcoming aura of dive bar wood paneling pervasive throughout the space. A long bar lines the north end of St. James Tavern, a row of bar chairs supported by another handful of high-top tables distributed throughout this main room. The decorations here are minimalist by dive bar standards, a few mirrored beer signs here, a Spuds Mackenzie sighting there.
Notable is the On Tap menu scrawled on a black dry erase board, a rotating set of specialties in line with the bar’s motto of “No Crap on Tap.” That craft-friendly decree dates back to the bar’s 1996 opening, putting St. James Tavern well ahead of the craft beer renaissance as a bit of a trailblazer in that sense. Domestic favorites are all available, of course, but a set of 13 taps provides microbrew variety. The connection between St. James Tavern and its supplying breweries so strong that immediately after the bar’s 2017 fire, two dozen local breweries held a benefit to support the St. James Tavern staff while the business was closed for repairs.
Owner Michelle Hill executed her vision of a neighborhood bar built for conversation expertly in the way St. James Tavern came together at a time when a craft beer-friendly, anti-television dive bar was certainly not a proposition for guaranteed success. And yet St. James Tavern qualifies as an Italian Village original, an anchor to what has become one of Columbus’ most diverse and beer-friendly districts.
