440 Club

They give you a free drink for your old AA chips.

This isn't my first choice in terms of Santa Rosa bars, but it's a good place to end your night as last call is later than any other bar in the vicinity (Belv, Dirty Bird), plus you can buy liquor and beer in the conjoined store till about 2 AM! The bartenders have a heavy, heavy hand and the drinks are cheap, but the atmosphere is really lacking for me... It's just so sad feeling. There's always a group of hipsters drinking cans of PBR and bottles of Budweiser at the end of the bar and there's always some really, really creepy guy who won't leave you alone. But if you come with the right people, you'll have a good time and get drunk quicker than at any other bar, and you'll want to get drunk quickly here if you come before 12. Every bartender I've met there is awesome, especially Adam :) Dirty Bird is still my favorite dive, but The 440 Club is aiight. CA$H ONLY! ATM in the store!

I hit up the 40 once a year. I stay at the Travelodge in the 440's immediate vicinity and I get my decently priced, strongly poured drink on every August.

This year I finally got to visit the entire trifecta of dive bars on this particular corner, and I can safely say that the 40 is my home away from home. I don't care for the pool tables at the Dirty Bird, and the crowd at the Belvedere was definitely not my scene -- too collegiate, too clean-cut, too pretty. Since I'm none of the above, I ran straight back to my security blanket -- the liquor store attachment and straight up ghetto singular room that is the 40.

I'll never leave you again, baby. Ever.

In any other instance I would not be pleased that the bartender decided to cut off my friend Hanakura's chosen songs on the juke. However, it's the 40, and I don't think Spice Girls, Hanson, Backstreet Boys or Justin Bieber were cutting it. Even for irony's sake. I understand.

Car bombs, "Corona and cream", vodka energy drinks, PBR tall boys... the memories just keep on rolling. Hanakura, my bro, Paisa Alex, Steve-O, Rob Zombie, Fish, Gazo, Ralphie, Bonofide, and of course my Football Knight... ah, so many good times with so many of my favorite people. I wish I knew the bartenders' names so I could give them gigantic Yelp hugs on here, but if you guys read this just know that I love you guys and look forward to seeing you every year!