A flirty bartender ruled my favorite chaotic LA dive bar. I still mourn its loss

The writer recalls Hank’s, a cramped downtown Los Angeles bar where strangers routinely joined one another’s conversations and its bartender, Nina, helped create a welcoming atmosphere. Its closure during the pandemic left the writer grieving not only a favourite bar but also a place that connected people across different lives and held memories of their younger self.

The writer discovered Hank’s while studying education at USC and spent the next two years there with classmates. The bar had no food or drinks menu, and its narrow layout kept patrons close together; Nina was remembered for her perceptiveness, playful flirting and care for customers, including taking an intoxicated man’s car keys and ordering him a pizza. The writer had hoped to return to tell her they had become a teacher, but never got the chance.