The Ballard brewery district’s sunny beer patios are reportedly packed this week with scores of people squinting and basking in the glow of community they’re pretty sure they know from somewhere.
“I don’t usually go out, but there’s no better time than a beautiful summer day like this to grab a pint and be surrounded by people I think I’ve kind of met before,” said Melissa Benson while furrowing her brow at a friendly looking bearded man in the corner. “I feel like I either did a rock-climbing class, a Tinder date, Viking LARP or almost got engaged to him and then broke it off a few years ago or something? I never give anyone direct eye contact long enough to remember what their actual face looks like, so it’s hard to know for sure. I’ll remember where he’s from before I leave because that man I don’t know in the corner keeps staring at me — oh wait, I do know him! I think?”
All evening, every brewery up and down 14th Avenue Northwest buzzed with the familiar, jovial din of people wondering if they probably knew the person a few tables over.
“Oh, look that’s my next-door neighbor over there in her signature Patagonia vest and Keens – we’ve never talked, but we’ve been passing by each other with a friendly hello long enough to at least recognize each other,” said Martin Henrickson, as the woman took off her vest. “Oh, wait, she looks like a whole other person now but still familiar though—either a Ballard Market bagger or that lady at Golden Gardens who’s always a little too obsessed with the giant sea cucumbers.”
At press time, all beer patio patrons confirmed there was no way in hell they were going over there to them to find out for sure.
