As predicted a couple of months ago things are changing downtown after dark. The latest rumor? Diggy Base has closed and the Bistro folks will try to bring back one of Boise's greatest bars. In the 70�s the southeast corner 6th and Main held two great establishments. Jakes was a mid priced grille with a classic �Brunswick� back bar and the best wait staff in the city. Downstairs? The now legendary �Dirty Little Roddys�. What fun, I was just barley able to get in before it closed. It was cool while it lasted. The main decor was wooden doors on saw horses. You had to be careful not to set your beer glass in the hole that used to hold the door knob. Roddys was a dive bar. The classic dive, downstairs, a bit dark, full of interesting characters and cheap drinks. I miss those places. To sell more beer, DLR�s took the concept of giving you something salty to eat to extremes. Peanuts in the shell everywhere. Bet that old timers can still remember the distinctive crunch. In addition to peanuts, cheap sandwiches were available. I believe they wrapped them in butcher paper with a slice of pickle. Did I mention that the place was haunted. The legend was that in earlier times this basement was under the stage and dance hall were China Blue is now. A young actress was savagely murdered below the stage and her spirit never left. Old employees tell of moving glasses and strange flickering lights.
With today's fire, health, safety, and liquor laws, Roddys seems like something out of the wild west. Hopefully Ted and his crew can find something that will work in the disappointing Diggy space. A no frills, good cheap beer joint might be the ticket, but it will never be the dive that Dirty Little Roddys was.