CLIPBOARD : THURSDAY’S

At first glance, Thursday’s in Sunset Beach appears to be the quintessential beach-town bar. Casual and slightly down at the heels, it looks like the kind of place you could dash into straight off the beach for a beer and a round of pool. A sign out front says “Thursday’s--Where Happy Hour Never Ends.”

But Thursday’s is no longer a bar. The former saloon was converted into an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting hall in 1982, and nothing stronger than hot coffee has been served there since.

It still looks like a bar outside, and sometimes all the laughter, cheering and applauding going on inside sounds like most bars during the playoffs. But the crowd at Thursday’s is cheering for each other, helping fellow alcoholics celebrate spending 30 days sober, 90 days sober, or their first AA birthday.

“Now and then, someone will pull in off the highway, thinking they’ve found the perfect place to drink,” said Vince J., who serves on Thursday’s board of directors. “It takes a while, but pretty soon they realize they are in the wrong place. We get a kick out of it,” he said.

Three huge coffee urns occupy the bar, attracting a steady stream of customers before, during and after meetings. The walls are lined with coffee mugs instead of beer mugs and the 12 Steps of AA are prominently displayed over the front door.

Even though Thursday’s has gone on the wagon, it’s still a popular neighborhood spot. More than 2,000 people attend meetings there every week. “A handful of them used to drink at Thursday’s when it was a rowdy bar,” said Vince. It’s still a home-away-from-home for many people, “but now it helps keep them sober,” he said.

Thursday’s is dear to the hearts of those who attend meetings there because, like them, it has a past and was given a new lease on life. After the death of its owner and bartender, Thursday’s sat vacant for several years. Ownership transferred to his daughter, who nailed the doors and windows shut and used the building for storage.

But a Sunset Beach couple wanted more AA meetings close to home, so they went looking for space to rent. “We came across Thursday’s, but it needed a lot of work,” said Debbie C., who originated the first Thursday’s meeting group in 1982. “My boyfriend refurbished bars for a living before he joined AA. So he put his construction talents to work on remodeling the inside. We also got a lot of help from AA people in the area,” said Debbie. “Working with others and being of service is part of what AA is about. It’s fun to think that I have that old bar to thank for helping me stay sober,” she said.

Today more than 30 meetings a week are held at Thursday’s, making the Sunset Beach AA Fellowship one of the most active in Southern California. Thursday’s patio is used for impromptu barbecues and occasionally meetings are held on the nearby beach.

“Thursday’s looks like some of the places I used to drink in right before I hit bottom. I wasn’t exactly living it up at places like Maxwell’s. I went to beat-up old bars like Thursday’s,” said Vince.

“But unfortunately, for all the years I’ve been coming to meetings, I’ve seen very few people make it through their first 30 days. So now you know that all that cheering comes from the heart. We’ve all been there before,” he said.

Hours: Open daily, but closes between morning, afternoon and evening meetings. Call number listed below for complete schedule information.

Address: 16885 Pacific Coast Highway, Sunset Beach.

Telephone: Orange County Chapter of Alcoholics Anonymous: (714) 556-4555.

Miscellaneous Information: Newcomers session held Thursday night at 6:30 p.m. Some men-only and women-only meetings. Nonsmokers group meets Friday at 4 p.m. Meetings scheduled into late evening on Friday and Saturday nights.