Then came those high falootin' overpriced "microbrews." The addition of Ballard Bitter induced much bitterness amongst many of these old time Ballardites. "Beer that actually tastes good? At 3 bucks a pop?!? And you're not even allowed to PUNCH people in Hattie's anymore! What the hell is this world coming to?"

These Bukowski clones could barely even squeeze INTO Hattie's anymore, let alone punch people in it, what with all the sudden throngs of black-clad 20-somethings and their dot com dollars hogging up the joint. Soon many of them were taking their business elsewhere, only to have their other homes-away-from-home pulled out from under them time and time again.