editors

A throwback bar and grill that delivers

SALOONS | CHRIS BARNETT

In a hype-filled world, it’s not unusual to find a place that promises “great food, friendly service, a homey atmosphere and the stiffest drinks in town.”

What is unusual is a place that delivers on the hype — and delivers it all at fair prices.

Joe’s Cafe in Santa Barbara does it. It’s a throwback bar and grill bucking today’s culinary trend toward $70 steaks and $25 cocktails.

JOE’S HAS QUITE A HISTORY. The original location a few doors down the block had been a laundry, a blacksmith shop, restaurants, a second-hand store, a soft-drink stand and a pool hall. It was operating as the Channel Bar when Joe Ferrario, an Italian immigrant, bought it in 1928 and renamed it Joe’s Cafe.

When Prohibition ended in 1933, Joe started “importing” Acme draft beer from up in San Francisco and the cafe became a bar. Joe retired in 1948 and sold it to another Joe. When he retired, he sold it to a guy named Harry, who had the good sense not to rename it yet another Harry’s Bar. Harry Davis sold Joe’s in 1969 to Nancy Peery and she moved it to its present location at 536 State Street. Restaurateur Gene Montesano bought it in 2003 and has been at the helm ever since.

Another Joe — Joey Somerville, the general manager —  had a few things to say about Joe’s circa 2021. “This is not a saloon,” he insists, although it checks all the boxes for a great bar: vintage photos, pressed tin ceiling, sprawling brass and glass chandeliers, beat-up plank for a bar and the claim of strongest drinks in town.

WHAT JOE’S CAFE HAS, besides the heavy pours and huge menus for breakfast, lunch and dinner, are very professional bartenders and servers. Many have long tenures on the job. As someone who appreciates professional bartenders in a day when too many stylize themselves as “mixologists,” I can practically guarantee you’ll get swift and savvy service here. I was on a barstool for four hours — honest, it was research! — observing their prowess and procedures.

Alfredo worked the day shift early in the week and he showed me such niceties as a blue cheese-stuffed olive in a Joe’s Martini. He’s attentive, has a fine sense of humor and always makes eye contact. Sharing the shift with Alfredo is 72-year-old Frankie Calvillo, who’s been serving customers at Joe’s for 50 years. Frankie started as a dishwasher and worked his way up the ladder. But in his current role, he has a gift for making first-timers feel like regulars.

“Why I enjoy this job is that I get to meet so many people and they are such a pleasure,” he says without hesitation.

Boyish-looking and fit, Calvillo claims his biggest thrill is “serving three generations” of Joe’s Cafe customers. “I served them when they were UC Santa Barbara students 35 years ago. Now their kids and grandkids come in.”

BUCKING MODERN MARKETING CONVENTION, Joe’s Cafe has no signature cocktail and neither Frankie nor Alfredo lay claim to inventing any particular libation. Says Calvillo: “I say, ‘What do you like? Bourbon, vodka, gin?’ and I will make something and surprise you.”

Despite his years behind the plank, Frankie is discreet when asked to recall any momentous event on his bar stools. But he remembers a couple who came in decades ago on their first date for a drink.

“He gave her a flower and she accidentally left it on the bar when they left. I saved it and the next time in, I gave it to them.” He says the couple wasn’t particularly overwhelmed by the gesture. “Thank you,” Frankie recalls the gentlemen saying, “but we got engaged that night and she was more focused on the ring.”

“Guess what?” Frankie says with a smile. “They got married and are still coming in.”

Chris Barnett writes about business travel and great bars around the world.