Anticipating A Loss...

(dateline)  Hermosa Beach biannual fair

When we rounded the corner from the alley onto the Strand, I was mentally prepared (mostly) to see that our favorite bar was closed.  For at lease 30 years it was owned by a trio of Viet Nam vets.  Perhaps all of the horrors seen in Nam had prepared them for running a bar at the beach.  To say theirs were an eclectic bunch of customers is understatement.  The Poopdeck preceded "dive bar" by a great many years. 

Now, under new management, the bar was open to take advantage of the profits on a holiday weekend.  The place looked ... bare; the walls empty of beer signs.  Out on the patio, the huge mural showing the place and the Mermaid next door from the water (past a couple of near-nude young ladies) was gone. 

We were lucky enough to get seats at the big window which was suddenly so clean that I reached out and surreptitiously  tapped the glass to see if it was actually there.  I bet that's the first time the glass was that clean; it must have been surprised and as eager to look out and see the passing scene as we were. 

For a long time, this bar was the bastion of Budweiser.  The Budweiser Drill Team always repaired here first after the annual St. Patrick's Day parade.  Now there's a tap for Stella Artois (owned by Budweiser or vice versa) at $7.50 per plastic go-cup.

A fellow drinker sat to my left and he explained that management had been up until 2 a.m. working desperately to get it ready for the weekend.  Some positive changes had been made - the Ladies had new toilets!  And instead of the tiny triangular sinks inside the stall there is now a shallow basin sink in the main room, replacing the shelf that used to be there.  Richie reported all new furnishings in the Men's room as well.

The name change - from Poopdeck to The Deck - plus the announcement that it would now feature "craft beers" and wine, signals The End for the poor old Poopdeck.  Gentrification has set in.  The final horror is that the back patio, open to the invigorating ocean air, is going to be designated No Smoking.

When the holiday weekend is over, it will be closed and the renovations will start in earnest.  I don't think we'll come back to see the end result.