New downtown bar will blend elan with town’s motorcycle roots,
offer local wine
Hollister finally has come of age
– at least in capitalizing on some of its best assets, all in
one place.
”
The Broken Wing,
”
a new nightclub occupying one of the best-ever downtown business
spots, is undergoing final preening and outfitting, and due to open
its doors in mid-October. And what it has to offer aims to please
motorcycle enthusiasts, local wine aficionados, music lovers and
those with a keen artistic eye. The bar sits in the historic
Pendergrass Building, one of Hollister’s few
”
high-rises
”
constructed in 1927 at 500 San Benito Street, on the corner of
Fifth Street.
New downtown bar will blend elan with town’s motorcycle roots, offer local wine
Hollister finally has come of age – at least in capitalizing on some of its best assets, all in one place.
“The Broken Wing,” a new nightclub occupying one of the best-ever downtown business spots, is undergoing final preening and outfitting, and due to open its doors in mid-October. And what it has to offer aims to please motorcycle enthusiasts, local wine aficionados, music lovers and those with a keen artistic eye. The bar sits in the historic Pendergrass Building, one of Hollister’s few “high-rises” constructed in 1927 at 500 San Benito Street, on the corner of Fifth Street.
“It will have a motorcycle theme, yet we’re talking about a time prior to all the bad-ass and leather,” said Larry Otis, proprietor of the new establishment.
Otis, who is “going on 50,” is renovating the site nearly single-handedly. Though he has yet to paint, floor or stock the place, one can well imagine what an oasis the new business will be for locals and visitors alike.
When it opens in about five weeks, the 3,600 square-foot watering hole will have an antique motorcycle theme, using artwork and artifacts dating from 1900 through the 1930s. But in addition, Otis plans to use Frank Lloyd Wright styled decor throughout. The flooring and five feet of wall paneling will be solid oak, as will the lengthy granite-topped bar spanning the west wall, in front of several bank vaults that are incorporated in the plan.
In the daytime, everything will be illuminated by 180-degrees of window light, as two walls of the structure look out onto San Benito and Fifth streets. At night, light fixtures will glow with the Wright-styled stained glass Prairie-Mission motif and the chairs will be Mission themed.
“It will offer a different perspective,” Otis said while giving a tour of the unfinished space this week. “I’ve been riding (motorcycles) 30 years, and when you say ‘biker,’ I think of greasy hair, leather, bugs in the teeth. But there’s another side [to the culture] and it’s that’s what the majority is.”
For the last six months, Otis and his wife Julia have painstakingly restored this part of the bottom floor of the six-storied building – once home to a bank that was topped with a hotel. The restoration was part of the condition of lease, as owner Tim Lantz is an historical architect striving to preserve in Hollister what the Loma Prieta quake of 1989, along with time and neglect, hasn’t obliterated.
“We’re anxious to get it going,” Otis said. “But restoration is slow-going. We’re not doing a demolition, we’re doing an architectural dig.”
Behind the oak bar is a hallway that leads to what will be the quieter game room in the back, where Otis plans to throw up a few dart machines and more tables and chairs. (A pool table, he said, would go in the front.) The space was once a dining room for the hotel, and Julia has been chipping away at five layers of old wallpaper and two more coatings of ancient paint to get to the original surface. It’s tricky business, because all the walls are framed with remnants of old and ornate molding, which architect Lantz plans to recreate in its original glory.
Otis said he plans on hiring live bands for special occasions, and favors an eclectic mix of blues, Motown, classic rock and country. In between the live entertainment there will be a sound system – controlled by Otis.
“There won’t be a jukebox,” he said. “I will pick the music.”
The name “broken wing” refers to a special patch made by motorcycle maker Harley Davidson, and it signifies a survivor of a bike wreck. The logo portrays outspread eagle wings, curved in somewhat. In 2004, the Otis’ crashed on their Harley Electralight while touring through the Grand Canyon in Arizona. Both were injured – Larry broke his collarbone and some ribs – and life-flighted by helicopter from the wreck.
“I earned the patch, I earned those wings,” Otis said.
For those who still go crazy wishing there were a stand-alone lounge in town where one could get a glass of locally made fine wine, they might be happy to know this won’t be just another biker bar. Keeping with the “restorative spirit” of the project, Otis plans to place a wall of wine behind a section of the bar. Julia is already making the rounds to local vintners to arrange which of their stock will sell by the glass.
The Otis’ hail from the Midwest; Larry is from Wisconsin, also home of Frank Lloyd Wright and the master’s first architectural workshop, and Julia is from Chicago. They moved from there to Bakersfield, and afterwards lived in Salinas. They have lived in Ridgemark for two years.
“We don’t really do the bar scene, and we don’t really drink,” Otis said. “But everyone we talk to says it’s just what this town needs.”
For updates and more information on The Broken Wing nightclub, check out the web site at www.brokenwing.com.
