
Inside the smoky main room, the customers sit in sullen silence, glaring at newcomers before returning to nursing their drinks. Only Darnell, the bartender, holds eye-contact with new arrivals. He's been here longer than anyone, and I can see a look in his eyes that says he has seen it all.
I tell him I'm a journalist looking for stories, and his attitude changes. "You've come to the right place," he says with a smile.