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Like a phoenix arising from the ashes, in December 2014, Owl Club re-opened under new management, and new ownership. Welcome back!
Photo: Owl Club, in Old Town Roseville, re-opened, as of December, 2014. The club closed their doors in February, 2014, due to a crazy ordinance enacted by the City of Roseville, that required all clubs in Old Town Roseville, on Friday and Saturday nights, to require a $5.00 cover charge, thus limiting the "club hopping" activities enjoyed by many patrons. As a result, Owl Club, and several other clubs closed their doors, and all other clubs in Old Town were severely hurt. In the fall of 2014, the city fathers finally saw the "light," and repealed the ordinance, and as a result, Owl Club was back in business, under a new owner, and new management.
Photo: During my hike on Saturday, February 07, 2015 at noon, I was amazed to see the "OPEN" sign lit up, as the club isn't supposed to open until mid-afternoon. I had been wanting to pay a visit since the re-opening, and today I had the perfect opportunity. Here's a view of the bar area, as soon as you enter the bar. Note the bar now sports the original wood and has been completely restored. Compare the bar to a previous article I posted under the previous ownership, and note the changes the new owner has made. Due to the fact the bar opened three hours early today, I was the only customer during my visit. I like it that way, as it's easier to take photos, chat with the staff, and not interfere with other patrons.
Photo: Meet the new owner of the Owl Club, Mr. Rick Sellers, as he opens up his smoker for my camera. The smoker is kept in the small "employee only" patio outside of the kitchen. Since it's just past noon, and the restaurant has just opened, the smoker is bare, as Rick hadn't yet fired it up for the afternoon crowd.
Photo: Owl Club now features a limited menu, but the food is delicious and the portions are generous.
Photo: Rick works on my pulled pork sandwich in he compact kitchen.
Photo: Rick delivers my pulled pork sandwich, with a smile. To wash it down with, I chose an imported stout beer, brewed by Ballast Point Brewery, called "Victory at Sea." Prior to today, I'd never heard of this beer, or for that matter, the brewer - I'm pretty much "mainstream" when it comes to beer - but the beer was stout, dark and delicious. At 10% alcohol content, it packed a punch! Owl Club features 21 craft and domestic beers on tap.
Photo: From the menu, I ordered a "Church Street Pulled Pork Sandwich." It's smoked, juicy, tender, delicious, and MASSIVE! You get a lot of meat for your dollars, AND it's served on a potato roll. It comes with chips, and the menu offers several choices, but I just HAD to order the "Zesty Jalipiņo" variety. Despite the name, it wasn't all that "zesty," but the whole meal was simply delicious.
Photo: My "Church Street Pulled Pork Sandwich," by itself. Due to the low light, the quality of the photo isn't a good as I would have liked it to be, but my iPhone 6 is my "camera" of choice, as it's always with me.
Photo: Here I am, with my "Victory at Sea" beer, and a pulled pork sandwich. Thanks, Rick, for taking the photo. It is certainly good to have Owl Club open again. Just like under the former owner, the beer is cold, and very plentiful, the food is good, and the staff and patrons are friendly. Welcome back! Meanwhile, let's go back nearly a year and see what Owl Club was like under the previous owners of Mark and Lorraine Vespoli, and the bar was tended by the beautiful and charming DeeDee Drene... Owl Club has been a fixture in historic downtown Roseville since 1934, and it's regarded as one of the premier night spots that Roseville has to offer. Owl opens up early on Fridays, at three in the afternoon, and, as I'm not an "owl" but a lover of fine bars and clubs, I pay a mid-afternoon visit to Owl Club.
Photo: Owl Club is located in downtown Roseville, on Church Street. Historic downtown Roseville has been recently upgraded, and now there's plenty of free parking, tasteful landscaping, and lots of friendly bars and restaurants.
Photo: As you walk in the club, the comfortable, full-service bar is to your right, and absolutely grabs your view. There are plenty of hi-def TVs playing the Sacramento Kings, and other sporting events. As of this writing, on Friday afternoon, November 15, 2013, there are 21 different beers on tap.
Photo: Just around the corner from the bar/main dining room, there is a semi-secluded annex that was quite vacant on this Friday afternoon. Owl Club opens at 4 in the afternoon on most days, but opens at 3 on Fridays. I arrived just a few minutes after opening time, and my only company were a few guys, enjoying themselves to a beer or two at the bar.
Photo: My friendly bartendress, Dee Dee Drene. Since I wanted to enjoy a couple of beers and a couple of tacos, I opened a "tab" at the bar. To do that, you give your server your credit card, and she opens a tab in your name. Obviously, she keeps it until you decide to leave. If you choose, as I did, to pay cash, she returns your card to you, without any charges, you give her cash, and your tab is settled. Simple, painless and efficient.
Photo: Owl Club serves delicious, bargain-priced food as well. You fill out one of these little forms, hand it to your friendly bartendress, and in a few minutes, your food is delivered to you, at the bar, or if you choose to sit at a table, it's delivered to your table. The food menu includes beef and chicken tacos, nachos, quesadillas and pizza. You can just add the food to your bar tab, which is what I did. Easy. Simple. Painless. Good food!
Photo: Dee Dee delivers my order of two beef tacos, with cheese cabbage and sour cream.
Photo: Dee Dee snapped my photo with my order of two soft tacos and two bottled beers. Check out the sign above my head, as there is no doubt where I am, when this photo was taken. The bar tab for two tacos and two bottled beers came to $10.00 exactly... I tipped friendly bartendress Dee Dee $2.00, as she was happy for me to take lots of photos, so I could publish this article.
Photo: Soft beef tacos are priced at only $1.50 each, and include seasoned ground beef, flour tortillas, shredded cabbage, sour cream and cheese. Great tacos, great bar atmosphere, great price, and lots of fun! Owl Club has been a fixture in historic downtown Roseville since 1934, and it's regarded as one of the premier night spots that Roseville has to offer. Did you know they serve pizza? Not just "pizza," but some of the best pizza that Roseville has to offer? Oh yeah!
Photo: Owl Club is located in downtown Roseville, on Church Street. Historic downtown Roseville has been recently upgraded, and now there's plenty of free parking, tasteful landscaping, and lots of friendly bars and restaurants. On this late Wednesday afternoon - it's dark at 5 o'clock - February 4, 2014, Church Street is quite empty, as the action doesn't start until evening.
Photo: Prior to ordering a pizza, I needed something to drink, specifically, beer. Owl Club offers 21 beers on tap, and today, my choice was a pint or three of "Hop Henge IPA" from Deschutes Brewery, in Bend, Oregon. If you like the taste of hops, this is the beer for you! The alcohol content is 9.3%, so you'd better have a ride if you plan to enjoy. My friend and hostess, Dee Dee was happy to pose for the photo, after serving my first pint of ale. As I'm responsible, I had arranged for a ride home, from none other than my wife.
Photo: Co-owner of Owl Club, Mark Vespoli, poses with hostess, Dee Dee Drene. As of this writing, Owl Club will only be in business for a few more weeks, as the City of Roseville has enacted an ordinance that REQUIRES each club, west of the railroad tracks, to impose a mandatory cover charge on Friday and Saturday nights, after 6:00 P.M.. As there are many clubs located in the "entertainment district" of Roseville, patrons tend to bar hop, but the ordinance requires a $5.00 cover charge EACH time a patron enters an establishment. Patrons balk at the payment for the privilege from enjoying a different venue on the same night, therefore many folks are avoiding the "scene" in west Roseville, and going elsewhere to party. As a result of this draconian ordinance, nearby Mint Club has already closed, and Owl Club is planning to cease operations as of February 28, 2014. Owl Club has been in business since 1934, and provides a quality entertainment experience, and will be sorely missed. This writer suggests the City of Roseville should consider repealing their recently enforced ordinance as it is destroying business in the entertainment district, and it is forcing the Owl Club to close.
Photo: Mark tends paperwork, as I relax at the bar, and enjoy the warm, friendly atmosphere. The variety of beer, and the prices are posted on the bar. If beer isn't to your liking, Owl Club offers a full-service bar, and can provide any drink you request.
Photo: The menu is posted, and it's pretty simple, straight forward and delicious. The condiment table is below the menu, and offers just about everything that you could wish for. The food is limited, but what Owl Club offers is good, exceptionally good, and they offer one of the best pizzas in Roseville. Yes, the menu offers tacos, so check out my previous review of the delicious tacos that Owl Club offers.
Photo: The owner of Owl Club, Mark, took the photo of the author, with my favorite hostess Dee Dee, with the signature sighnage in the background. It's a classic photo of "beauty and the beast..." Owl Club has a semi-separated room, which hosts karaoke, and other live music events, on a regular basis.
Photo: OK, I've posted Owl Club as a pizza restaurant, and they truly serve DELICIOUS pizza, albeit the toppings are somewhat limited. Whatever the case, the pizza served at Owl is delicious, and the people are friendly! Dee Dee takes my personal sized pizza out of the oven, and isn't afraid to pose for my camera. Of course, the pizza is the "star" of the photo... Thanks to the owner Mark, to allow me into the kitchen to snap this photo. I LOVE friendly places like Owl Club!
Photo: Dee Dee slices my "personal size" pizza. At $6.00 for a "basic" cheese pizza, it's a good deal, add $.50 for pepperoni slices, and it's a bargain. Add the friendly faces of Mark and Dee Dee, and it makes the pizza a bargain. The experience enjoyed at Owl Club is priceless...
Photo: Dee Dee serves my pizza, and brings it to my place at the bar. Oh, I should add that Dee Dee always has a smile on her face, is a awesome hostess, and is truly a nice person.
Photo: Pizza, Owl Club style, and it's a "class" act! Dee Dee told me that Mark had "doctored" regular pizza, and as a lover of pizza, I agree, as the pizza was good! Of course, it was even better, as I was graciously allowed into the kitchen - see previous photos - to see the "inside" of it. Inside, outside, or whatever, Owl Club makes great pizza! The staff is friendly, the beer is cold, the bar reflects the heritage Owl Club enjoys, and the pizza is as good as it gets. I can't think of a better way to enjoy a lazy afternoon than perching yourself on a bar stool at Owl Club, enjoying cold beer, chatting with friendly people and eating some of the best pizza that Roseville has to offer..
Photo: Thursday, February 13, 2014, I pay a return visit, and photographed friendly Dee Dee as she brings me a pint of refreshing I.P.A. ale.
Photo: Tonight, I sampled two chicken tacos, which are as delicious as the beef tacos. They're a tad pricier than the beef tacos, but well worth the price. The food, company and atmosphere is priceless.
Photo: Friday, February 28, 2014... Tomorrow, the Owl Club will close the doors for good, after 80 years in business. It's not due to the lack of patronige, it's due to a draconian ordinance enacted by the "city" of Roseville last November, that imposes a mandatory cover charge on night clubs on the west side of the railroad tracks. The Mint Club folded a couple of months ago, and now it's Owl Club's turn to go belly up, thanks to the Nazi-inspired, short-sided view of the "city" of Roseville. And I refer to the "city" in the diminuative form, as that's what the "city" of Roseville is...
Photo: My friend, Dee Dee Drene, and the "hostess with the most-ess," pose in front of the award-winning Owl Club banner, where the karokee singers sang for the last time, last night. Dee Dee and I are friends, as we met at Owl Club, and that's indicative Owl Club is all about; a place where friends meet. At Owl Club, you are always treated like family...
Photo: Lorraine Vespoli, co-owner of the Owl Club, greets a guest, and makes sure the bar is well tended. Lorraine, along with her fantastic husband, Mark, own the bar, and the property, and make all patrons feel at home, and part of an extended family. Lorraine, Mark, Dee Dee, Natasha... we'll miss seeing you. Oh well, Facebook and life goes on, so we'll see you at parties and other family gatherings... Cheers!
Photo: I barged my way into the kitchen, and caught Dee Dee putting another order of nachos into the oven. She doesn't seem to mind that I intruded into the kitchen and snapped her photo.
Photo: As long as I had my camera handy, I couldn't resist snapping Dee Dee at the condiment tray, in the kitchen, with a big ol' container of sour cream. That sour cream goes well on the tacos, nachos, and other fine food that Owl Club makes. Sadly, a day after this writing, Owl Club will be history...
Photo: Late Friday afternoon, February 28, 2014, friendly hostess Natasha, delivers my order of chicken nachos.
Photo: Chicken nachos, complete with shredded Mexican cheese, chips - duh!!! - sour cream, and lots of sliced, pickled, jalapeņo peppers. Oh yes!!! Outstanding nachos, the perfect compliment to a beer or two, or almost a complete meal in themselves. Tomorrow, after Owl Club closes the doors for good, Roseville will miss superior nachos... and a lot more else. Owl Club, we will miss you. Dear friend, you have earned your place in Roseville history... The staff is friendly, the beer is cold, the bar just SINGS! of atmosphere, and the tacos are great. I can't think of a better way to enjoy a lazy Friday afternoon than perching yourself on a bar stool at Owl Club, enjoying cold beer, chatting with friendly people and a delicious taco or two. Owl Club Copyright(c) 2015 eRench Productions. All rights reserved. This site has been on the web since December 22, 2002.
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