The InstigatorDee Brown is one of those people that stands behind the bar looking out at her Salem customers and knows them better than they may know themselves.
Growing up in a Navy family, Dee has lived around the world and spent her formative high school years in the Philippines, where her father was stationed.
“I started in the bar scene early. There was no real drinking age in the Philippines and after school, my friends and I would hit the local bars, if not the beach, and often both.” When questioned about such risky behavior for youth she admits that maybe it was not the wisest thing for a young woman to do, “but that is where we were and how things there were done. Besides, that is also where I learned that we all have to look out for each other. We were all in the military and all the guys knew we were family. That is what I want out of a good bar, a place where everyone can feel safe and part of a family.”
After graduating, Dee moved back to the United States. “I had been traveling for years and I was determined to find a place and put down roots.”
Fond memories and strong family ties landed her in Salem, which she then adopted as her home at 18. For a time, she attended Western Baptist College (now Corban University) but it was not long before she was working in the service industry.
Her first real job was with a Salem classic — Casey’s Hotdogs — which did not have much of a call for a bartender. But Casey’s had the service contract for the Armory. “At one event they needed someone to pour and Casey put me behind the bar. I told him I did not have any idea what to do and he said, ‘It’s easy, turn the bottle upside down and count to three.’ Based on my tips that first night, I probably counted a little slow. But it was a rush and I was hooked.”
In the mid-’90s, Dee stepped into the deep end of the bar scene at The (legendary) Tahiti on State Street. There, she learned much of what she now knows about the business. “I guess I gained my heavy hand and general philosophy about running a bar from George (The Tahiti’s legendary main bartender). It is about giving a customer an honest pour and then maybe a little more to be sure and making them feel they were home.”
The Tahiti taught her that bartending was a people business. “Making drinks is the easy part. It is all about the people and giving them a place where they are comfortable. That is the real service.”
Though she moved on, George continued to be an influence. “…even when I was working somewhere else, I would call George and ask him what was in a drink or how to handle a situation because we did not have guide books or the Internet back then — just people like George.”
After The Tahiti, Dee worked at Tommy John’s on Liberty where she honed her people skills as Tommy John’s was known for its bar-clearing brawls that spilled into the streets. “It was just that kind of place and that is how the late 90’s in Salem were.”
On the upside, she met her husband Gary Brown in one such bar-brawl. “I was working and a fight broke out. Someone threw a pint glass and I ducked, but the guy behind me was hit square in the face and bleeding. Gary was a customer that night and he jumped up, grabbed the guy and got him out of the way and into the kitchen and started to take care of him. Gary was always that guy, ready to step in and help.”
Later, they both ended up working at Pete’s Place on State Street (now Taproot Lounge & Cafe) where the relationship grew and they married. They took a second big plunge together and in 2008 opened their own bar: Brown’s Towne Lounge.
Dee’s history gives her a lot of insight into how bartending and the downtown Salem scene have changed over the years. “When I first worked downtown in the late 1980s, it was a dozen bars for drinking and no real restaurant scene. After 6 p.m., everything but the bars closed.”
She gives a lot of credit to the current improved downtown scene, and food service industry in general to the ban on smoking. “We all thought the smoking ban would kill the bar scene, but it didn’t. It has actually improved things.”
It is better for the employees and the customers, she said. The smoke-free environment opened the path for dramatically improved food services for everyone. “We have a Waygu beef burger on our menu. I can’t imagine ever being able to enjoy, much less offer, something like that in a smoke-filled bar.”
She notes today downtown Salem has a vibrant and eclectic atmosphere with lots of options, from Taproot Cafe & Lounge to Coin Jam — a diversity of dining from casual to fine dining and what was once an industrial parking lot is now Riverfront Park making downtown a daytime destination. “And it is safe. With so much always going on and so many businesses open and people, even late at night, it is safe.” But Dee still wants to make sure everyone gets home safe because “we are a community.”
At the end of the day, when asked what her favorite personal cocktail might be, an answer came almost too quick: “Patron Margarita on the rocks with salt.”
As for a classic drink to serve to customers, Dee recommends the Lemon Drop as a good baseline cocktail. It can be made sweet or sour depending on what the customer wants, and it rarely disappoints. Though if looking for a Salem original, she is reminded of a beast of a drink created at The Tahiti called The Big Bear. “It had over six shots. I make a smaller version at Brown’s Towne when someone calls for it, but the original was its own legend.”
The Original Tahiti Big Bear
Start with an 18 oz or larger pitcher or bowl filled with ice.
Add in order:
4 oz vodka
1.5 oz Midori
1 oz banana liqueur
2 oz pineapple juice
2 oz orange juice
Don’t stir or mix, but give it a little spin with a straw as you pass it across the bar.
This story originally ran in Press Play Salem issue 9 (Oct/Nov 2019)
Anne Lapour
