Joe’s Holds Down the Bar
By Julie Horner
“We’re never prepared for this, but we’ll be okay,” Joe’s Bar co-owner Gina Trepagnier said in early May. “Joe’s means the world to me and it has been a bit depressing seeing her with her lights off.”
When the going gets tough, the tough get going. “We took this opportunity to give her a bit of a face lift,” Trepagnier said. With a lively crew of locals and handy members of the local chapter of E Clampus Vitus, they’ve resurfaced and straightened the bar. The work, Trepagnier says, “has minimized the spirit killing effect that COVID-19 has had on us all. We can’t wait to fill her with the valley’s friendly faces and hear all the COVID gossip one could possibly imagine.”
While Trepagnier couldn’t swear when the first saloon existed on the site (the building itself served as a fire pumper garage in the late 1800s and was renovated into storefronts in the early 1900s), or confirm the rumors that the bar inside is one of the longest in California (“I must say it is very long”), but she did share that Joe’s as we know it is one of the only bars remaining anywhere with a “flow-through trough.” According to historical record, at the turn of the century it became popular to install metal troughs at the base of a bar through which water could be flushed to help carry away tobacco spit. But according to countless stories, patrons saw the troughs as an opportunity to relieve themselves right at the bar. Says Trepagnier, “In the old days that’s where they went pee. But we don’t talk about that.”
Judy Johnson, a member of Joe’s staff, proposed the bar refinishing project while the doors are shut. Trepagnier said, “We actually had the Clampers come in to help…while maintaining social distancing. There were years of patina on the top and they stripped it down to bare wood. There was a big bow in it, too. Noel from Tree House Cafe volunteered to straighten it out. Frankie from the Tree House donated lunch.”
During the shelter, Joe’s die-hards have been holding Bloody Mary Sundays on Zoom, “pretending like we’re sitting at the bar together for an hour.” And they have set up a virtual tip bucket on Tipping Circle dot com. “We’re dolling it out to the bartenders, keeping everyone on staff on the payroll. We’re cooking at our place every Sunday, and staff is coming over to pick up a care package. Trepagnier says, “We can’t wait to get back to normal. I look forward to seeing you on the dark side of the moon.”
A Nod to the Clamper Crew: Noel “Dictator” Allen, Ben “Two Stroke” Unger, Jimbo ” Rear End” Cavanagh, Eric “Big E” Clauser, Cary “Big Show” Coleman, Jim Thaxton
Photos contributed by Gina Trepagnier
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