The bar has gone by several names – Jalisco Inn, Jalisco Cafe, Jalisco Inn  Number 2, and The New Jalisco Bar. Remaining open during the work, the bar is going under a renovation, revealing a long hidden ceiling and opening long closed-off rooms. Happy Hour is Monday through Thursday til 7PM, with drink specials other times and no cover on weekends. Mostly Latino crowd.

Research – Robert Cabuto
Photos – LAPL and Robert Cabuto

Also in the news, Jalisco Bar in downtown was closed temporarily for health code violations. This doesn’t shock me because even the best, cleanest, and newest places can have problems. Luckily it was opened and offering cheap beers again.

A few bars got paint jobs recently. At first I thought they were copying the 4100 Bar in Silverlake and the Shortstop in Echo by painting over everything with solid dark colors, but it turns out there were other reasons besides following a trend. Pictured above is Costena and 5 Stars Bar in Downtown LA. They hadn’t been painted in years, so they probably needed it. Not long after I took the early Sept 2010 picture, Costena Bar surprised me with a new design pictured below. I’m wondering if 5 Stars will do something new, but I’m not going to hold my breath.

Halfway down the block, Jalisco Bar went through a similar transformation.

A different story happened at Little Joy in Echo Park. It went from very plain, to overdone, to extremely plain. The first two photos are thanks to two other blogs. The third photo I’m embarrased to say is mine – the camera just wouldn’t focus. It turns out the city made them get rid of the mural because it violated sign laws. The bar has not closed down, there just isn’t anything indicating the name of the bar. Even the two signs that hung on the corner are gone – I think they said something like Cocktails, Rec Room, Fun Room, or Play Room – I can’t remember but I do miss them – leaving only the sign for the restaurant next door.

Here are some bars on the real Eastside that are no longer open. Many I had been to. Some I discovered too late. Some are waiting to be transformed. Some the contractors have already made them into something new.

Starting in the Northeast, Mi Barra, just a stones throw from the California Nigth Club (that’s the way it’s spelled on the sign) has been sitting like this for years. I remember For Sale signs posted on the exterior many years ago. Maybe its sold now just waiting for permits to knock it down or gut it out.

Here’s a bar I went to once about 5 or 6 years ago. I remember the chill atmosphere, cheap beer and food which was great for someone like me who likes to eat when drinking. By the time I got around to taking a pic, it was closed down and even the signs were removed. I never got a chance to ask it’s name.

Here is the location of the long ago closed gay bar Bon Mot on Figueroa. After 2 regulars were killed by alleged gang members and the LAPD refused to do much about it because they didn’t give a fuck about two fags, this bar birthed a civil rights movement to combat the problems.

The former Lesbian bar, Bobs Plush Pony, seen here in it’s new incarnation on Alhambra Ave in El Sereno. I never got to go there but I heard it was a rough place where men weren’t received well.

Moving South into Boyle Heights, I’m not sure when this one at Chavez and Evergreen closed but I remember driving around the area and seeing it open many years ago. That was when I was afraid of the area and didnt venture into any bars. A 1987 Phone Book names it as Club Copas de Oro. In 1973 it was El Porvenir Club. In 1969 it was the Five Points Cafe.

Just down the street was Diamante, at First and Evergreen. This was the second bar in Boyle Heights that I went to. It was one of the few still open after midnite, so the group I was with left one closing bar and found this gem of a dive bar. (I should write for the local news). This bar had two rooms – one to sit and drink – and the other to play pool or pinball games. I dont know of any other bars in the area with pinball machines. The bar was recently transformed into a check cashing business.

Now in the Southside of Boyle Heights, there once was The Olympic Bar, just to the west of Indiana Street. It had always been closed when I went past it while on the bus to work and back. I got excited once when I saw the roof being repaired and even caught a glimpse of the pool table inside. When the work was done, a For Rent sign went up, mentioning a bar as a posible use. Unfortunately it was rented to a church group and the small letters that said the name Olympic Bar for many years were painted over.

Crossing the border into East Los and just a few blocks away from the Olympic Bar are the remnants of two bars on Union Pacific, Tully’s and Franks. I’m relying on my dad’s memory who told me of the goodtimes he and his buddies had after a days work at Zellerbach Paper Company (now a 99 Cent Only distribution center) across the street. The bars were rough in those days, he said. The locals claimed the bars as their own, not even considering employees from across the street as locals. Faded paint on the wall still shows the name Tullys, while the grey painted building that once was Franks is now a Piloncillo company.

In East LA there are 3 bars rotting away. The El Amigo Bar, the Smog Room, and one that I can not find the name anywhere. It has every appearance of a bar, including the giant satelite dish on the roof. Oddly a few months ago the exterior lights were turned on even though I have never seen the bar open.

And finally two out of the Eastside area. First is the Twin Gables. A bar at the eastern end of Olympic Boulevard in Montebello. I went there a couple times during my lunch break when I worked nearby. By then they just served drinks, and not the fine food like advertised on the tiles. And by the time this picture was taken, not even drinks were served – a fence was erected to keep cars out and the sign at the edge of the parking lot was removed. Hopefully the owner kept it as a momento.

Finally here is what’s left of Karlas Bar on Pacific in Huntington Park, having closed and in the process if becoming another business. The interior was long and narrow and the bar was one of the longest I had ever seen. Beyond that there was even room for a pool table. However I found the staff to be a bit rude.

I know I got fascinated with bars too late. I’m sure that there were a lot more that I don’t even know about that were great places for locals in their day. I drive past certain buildings that have clues that they may have been bars. I wish I had a hot tub time machine to find out for sure. Until time travel becomes a reality I will settle for stories.

Excuse me if I start out slow. I know I’ve already wrote about Club Chapala before, but it is local and easy to snap a pic of. So first in the news is about the new paint job the owner gave the building.

Gone is the dark green paint and the mural of the cock fight. (see previous posts). The owner said she painted it because she thought it looked ugly before. I thought it definetely looked unique. Also new is a repaved parking lot, but the best thing is a new younger crowd that enjoys music, dancing, drinking and playing pool. I have been going with friends and having good times.

So keep looking for new posts, and comment as much as you want. That will encourage me to do more.

Then and Now

Sharing a building with a laundrymat (closed after this picture was taken), Le Barcito is the current name of this Silverlake bar opened in the 1960′s as The Black Cat. It has gone through many names, but has always been a gay bar, and a very important one in the gay rights movement. A newspaper article of the police raid of the Black Cat in the late 60′s is shown at the beginning of the movie Milk. I won’t get into that whole story because this post is just to show an old and new pic but you can read some pages of the Cultural Historical Monument application here. Black Cat CHC Application (partial).

Some things I want to point out: The cat sign was only recently restored after the bar gained Cultural Monument status. It was previously completely faded or painted over with white. The building was originally built as a Safeway Supermarket. The glass doors and windows were replaced with a wooden facade like many old bars. That would make a great future post. If anyone knows anything about that, please let me know.

Oh Happy Day. After over 2 months of being closed for violations – not sure what that coulda been – underage drinkers or drugs being sold – who knows – Club Chapala was open again today. Well open for cleaning but scheduled to open tomorrrow for service. YAY. It’s on the way home from from the job i recently started. How i coulda used the place during the summer as i rode my bike on those hot summer days home from work. Lets hope it stays open longer. The for sale sign is not a good sign though. But hopefully with the bad economy the property wont sell for a long time. It.s right across from the Lou Costello Senior Citizens Center.

After being closed for about a year, Echo Parks El Prado is open again. If you want a cool yuppie trendy hangout then this is the place for you. I will never go back though. This former latino clientele neighborhood bar was another victim of Echo Parks gentrification. The bar was gutted out and remodeled and retains nothing of its former life. It’s plain interior is accompanied by its expensive beer prices.

Reds Bar Ceiling

There’s a couple bars on First Street near Soto that have so far survived the construction of the Gold Line. So next fall they might actually benefit from the underground light rail station on the corner. Or God forbid that they become victims of of gentrification. Two bars I want to talk about now are Chuparosa (formerly called Redz) and Villa Ranchera. They are must sees for their ceilings. Above is a picture of Chuparosa bars album covered ceiling. Put up by the former owner, the entire ceiling is covered by records. Well not literally, there are gaps between them but you get the point. The new owner decided to keep them since the records generate a lot of attention.

Be prepared to speak spanish and it wouldn’t hurt to put on some lipstick and a dress since this is mostly a lesbian bar. A certain staff member is not the friendliest but you can at least go in for one drink and admire the ceiling. The bar is located across from the micro park where theres one of those 25 cent bathrooms.

A few doors down from the corner of Soto is Villa Ranchera. It’s easy to miss because it doesnt really look like a bar nor a restaurant from the outside. The door looks more like something you would see at a dentist office. Pictured above is the ceiling from that bar. Brightly colored ceiling boards are the best feature of this otherwise plain room. It’s usually not very full and the beers are priced cheap that you can buy a round of drinks for everyone for under 20 bucks and have some left over to pick some songs from the jukebox.

Be prepared to speak spanish. I dont think they speak anything else in there. They are open early everyday at 7AM because they do serve food although there are no menus. I guess it’s just tacos that they make. But I haven’t found out for sure.

UPDATE  The correct name of the restaurant is Mi Ranchito. The years I went I would never thought it was a restaurant. With a bar and pool table taking up most of the space, what was I to think. Even after a remodel, the bar was most prominent. The owner has said in the LA Times that it is a restaurant, but because of the previous work on the Gold Line, the lack of eating customers made it basically into a bar. Maybe theres been a turnaround. You be the judge.

Another Bar Bites the Dust – and other News

Wow how time flies. It’s been a couple weeks since my last post but it felt like just a few days. So where to start. Well I’ll talk about the picture. That was Mistys bar in the city of Maywood, on Atlantic a couple blocks north of Slauson Ave. I hate to see bars close. Part of history is being lost. Plus another place for me to hang out is gone. I like variety. I like going from one place to the next. Checking out the people. Listening to different music from the jukeboxes and watching different things on the Tvs. Customarily sports are shown in bars, but its not uncommon to see news shows like Ver Para Creer, or novelas or talk shows like La Flaca y el Gordo. I might have the order reversed – so i’ll try El Gordo y La Flaca – well i still cant tell which is right.

Mistys was a small bar with a jukebox, pool table and couple of TVs. It was probably a bar from the 50s or 60s, run down by now, but part of its charm. It was always hot inside so they kept both doors open to allow circulation. It didn’t help much so it was best to get a seat where the air from one of the fans could hit you. The meseras were friendly, one example is they told me to bring my bike inside once rather than risk it being stolen outside. It was locked up but they said it was not a safe neighborhood for bikes. The bars on the doors and windows prove that point. Well Mistys is gone but there are two bars nearby to hang out instead, The Redwood Room and Bar Noa Noa, but I will still miss Mistys.

The past few weeks has been a busy time for me visiting new bars. Starting in Commerce across the street from the KMART is Alcoa Restaurant and Bar. Don’t let the restaurant in the name fool you, everyone is crowded in back area where the bar is. Its a full liquor bar with pool table and jukebox and sports showing on the TVs. I found it really by accident while waiting at the bus stop in the hot sun. I noticed men coming out of what appeared to be an empty building. Through the windows I didn’t see anyone eating, but still men were coming out. So I went inside and noticed the crowded bar area in the back. I was brought a chair and luckily was sitting near a fan and by a man which struck up a conversation withe me. A couple beers later i was back in the hot sun to get the next bus toward my house.

In Montebello there is teeny tiny bar on Beverly Boulevard called El Torito Cafe. No relation to the big restaurant chain. Blink and you may miss it. Walk in and you step back in time – boy I love those bars. The owner of the bar hasn’t remained young though. She is 81. She is fragile and can’t hear very well. I am surprised she doesn’t always have someone there to be security. Well maybe she does at night when it is busy. The place manages to fit a kitchen in the back and there is a pool table and jukebox squeezed in. The neighborhood isnt the greatest though. Next door in a small gap between buildings is where lots of guys hang out drinking and playing loud music. At first I thought it was the smoking area of the bar but it turns out that is not the case. If thats not bad, i was told a few months ago that a customer actually beat up the 81 year old owner sending her to the hospital and bringing in the police to the whole neighborhood to find the assailant. What kind of person would beat up an old woman? While I was there the man next to me appeared to be a veterano, talking about guys that had died recently. Not sure if he meant gang related deaths but I didn’t want to find out. But he wasn’t the strangest character. In walked in woman and a teenage girl. Yes a teenage girl and her mother. I guess that made it alright to order her a budweiser. I overheard them and the veterano talk about the continuation of the girls education through troubled youth programs. Once again I didn’t want to know any details. Two beers and I was out of there. I’d hate to go there when the bar is actually busy – multiply the bad characters by 10.

On Santa Monica Boulevard near Western is the Prime Time bar. A comfortable sized bar with full liquor and friendly service. Lily the bartender is quick to strike up a conversation with patrons. The bar has a high ceiling and there are interesting pictures on the walls of celebrities. I didn’t stay there long and thank goodness – the karaoke was about to start.

I made a trip out to the valley one of the hottest days of the year so far. Constantly sweating while walking down the streets – it was miserable. Sepulveda Boulevard surprisingly has few bars. I managed to find one called Liquid Zoo. Upon entering you see a long full liquor bar on the left and on the right is an area with tables and a tiny stage in the corner for performers. Its pretty narrow but the mirrors on the walls help with the claustrophobia. In the back is a small pool table. Now most bars have small pool tables but this one was even smaller. Not suitable for league play. The patrons where mostly men in the 40s and 50s. They seemed to be having a good time drinking and eating the free soup that the bar owner made. It was yummy. The only younger goodlooking person in the bar struck up a conversation with me. We talked about the baseball game on the TV, then he went into how he hated the tiny pool table. He was disappointedthat the bar had been remodeled since his last visit and that the clientele had changed along with the remodel. He missed the rowdy atmosphere and younger crowd of the bar a year ago. He hinted at drug use but i showed my disinterest in that, thinking that he maybe was some undercover cop. He and his friend left after one beer and I left soon after that.