(STORY IMAGE:KHQ.COM)
SPOKANE, Wash. -The Checkerboard Bar on east Sprague has been a Spokane staple since 1933. But it is now struggling to stay open because of all of the construction that has been happening in the area.
"Things are really looking up for East Central, but unfortunately we pretty much have gone a whole year affected by construction," said owner Ian May
May purchased the Checkerboard six years ago and has aimed to help improve the area by keeping the bar opened and the riff-raff out.
This bar has seen a whole lot in its 84 year history "Because of the condition of the neighborhood the crime the prostitution all of the problems that was here," said May.
Checkerboard has survived all of that, but may have met its match with construction.
May has fixed and has aimed to improve the bar. He even constructed an outdoor beer garden using old pavers from when Sprague was a brick road.
While this construction project is now in the final stages, The Checkerboard isn't the only one impacted by the construction. Dozens of others have also been dealing with the same thing: less traffic.
But May doesn't want this bar that's filled with history to disappear. “It's important that we hang on to some of our heritage here in our town," he said.