Fat Stan's Bar & Liquor Store

Stopped in to Fat Sam's for a drink because we were killing some time in downtown Ketchikan. We thought we were classin' it up by going in to what looks like he nicest bar in town, and although the ambiance was decent, the service was HORRIBLE.

The woman behind the bar probably just assumed we were off a cruise ship and wouldn't be back, because she was beyond rude. She was unfriendly, inattentive and had a really sour attitude. she was happy to serve the people she obviously knew (locals) but the rest of us were completely ignored. We had a glass of wine and she poured it like it was a big inconvenience to her. I asked to borrow a pen and a napkin and she tossed the pen at me and said "we're out of napkins". Thank you to the man at the bar eating his dinner who very graciously gave me one of his.

I love wine and coming up here to Ketchikan on business. This place would be a great little find if it weren't for the big ol' C word working at the bar. Won't be back! The barmaid has ZERO class!

Fat Stan's is probably the best bar in Ketchikan.  That might not be saying much, but they probably make a lot of money from tourists (due to proximity to the main drag) and locals (thanks to the decent beer selection) alike.  They sponsor a pretty sweet promotion offered through the lumberjack show across the street.  The printed show program includes a coupon for a free pint glass with the purchase of a beer.  Hell yes, I will take a free souvenir glass; I wanted to try the beer anyway.

My only criticism would be that they carry too few beers on tap--only two!  They lured me in with the pint glass offer, but I was keen to try some local beers and would have bought more than one if they had them on draft.  They do have a nice selection of bottled beers, but I prefer to order draft whenever possible.  As it was, my only choices were Alaskan Summer and Sierra Nevada something-or-other.  Of course I went with the Alaskan (local microbreweries represent!) and was not disappointed.

So:  tourists--go check them out; locals--pester the owners to install more taps.

Incidentally, the pint glass depicts Alaskan Brewing Company, not Fat Stan's.  The very handsome one that I received is for their Summer Ale.

As of my visit, most bars in Alaska still allowed smoking INSIDE; this place doesn't, which is the sole reason we wound up here. It's a cute place to hang out and have a beer. If you go across the parking lot, you can get a program/flyer from the lumberjack show that gives a coupon for a free Alaska Brewing pint glass if you get that beer. The coupon is also in the walking tour brochure that you can pick up at diff places.

They also have a small market attached to this store that has a good selection of liquor & wine if you want to take a bottle for your travels (we did!).