THURSDAY, MAY 13, 1999

Long Beach "working man's bar turns" 75

By Greg Hanson

On-Line Forty-Niner

Joe Jost's.

You could call it the West Coast version of Cheers.

And who better to guide the bar, now a Long Beach icon, into its 75th year than Ken Buck, owner and grandson of the now legendary Joe - founder of the vintage establishment.

Buck is a very likable guy. He cruises around the bar, wearing shorts and a Joe Jost's T-shirt, drinking a beer, serving drinks and food and mingling with some of the regulars.

Customers and workers like the idea of him being in charge. According to Buck, he has "thousands of regulars" at the bar and about "four generations of families" have visited since the bar opened in 1924.

It is located on Anaheim and Temple in downtown Long Beach.

Buck said he likes the idea that a father can take his son here without worrying about age restrictions since it is more than just a bar.

In August, Joe Jost's will celebrate its 75th anniversary.

According to the bar's website, joejosts.com, it has sold over 14 million schooners of beer, 4.5 million "Specials" and six million pickled eggs since its opening.

Brewworks in Hermosa Beach has brewed a Hungarian beer, similar to a pilsner, for the anniversary.

It was made entirely from scratch. The beer will be sold for one year in 22-oz. bottles complete with a commemorative label.

Also, Buck has made it even harder to get through the day without seeing a Joe Jost's T-shirt.

Anniversary shirts have been made along with hats, sweatshirts and various other products for the celebration.

The bar itself looks nearly the same as it did when it first opened. Two big rooms line the narrow interior.

The first is the bar and at the back is a long pool hall with a peanut roaster and jukebox in the corner.

Perhaps the most interesting decoration in Joe's is a wall across from the bar that has photos of customers hanging on it.

If you have your picture taken in front of a famous landmark wearing your Joe Jost's T-shirt, the employees will hang your picture on the wall next to the others.

There are probably about a hundred of them so far including customers in front of the Eiffel Tower in France, Stonehenge and Buckingham Palace in England, the Acropolis in Greece, the Statue of Liberty and Cheers in Boston.

The menu at Joe's is simple - only about five different kinds of sandwiches are available, the most important being the "Special," which is sausage, a pickle and cheese on rye bread. You can't get a sandwich like that anywhere else, Buck said.

There are also only about five types of beer but most customers get schooners of Pabst because that's what Joe was serving in the bar's early days.

They also serve their famous pickled eggs that are served on a mound of pretzels with spicy peppers.

Going into the bar allows a visitor the privilege of hearing the line, "Yeah, let me get a Special, an egg and a schooner of Pabst," at least 10 times.

Buck tried adding salads to the menu once but "no one would buy salads because everyone already knows what they are going to get before they come in," he said.

With very cheap prices, Joe Jost's is "the working man's bar," according to Buck.

A "Special" costs $2.30, 80 cents buys a pickled egg and a schooner of Pabst costs $2.50. Also, it is only $3 an hour to play pool on vintage pool tables.

With a friendly atmosphere, cheap prices and great food, Buck believes the bar should be around for a long time past this its 75th anniversary.