A Little Local History to Go With Your Beer

When George Stevens was a kid he played tag on the plot of land where his Stick & Stein Eatery & Sports Parlor stands. Later, Rob’s Restaurant w as built on the lot, and Stevens came here for dinner with his parents. He was a regular at Jolly Rogers, after it replaced Rob’s.

The nostalgia factor propelled Stevens to buy the restaurant a year ago when the last resident, the 707 Bar and Grill, couldn’t make a go of this El Segundo property just south of the airport. But the fact that his Stick & Stein on Grand Street in El Segundo was a 22-year success made the decision all the more easy.

“Nowadays we call the old restaurant the old folks home,” says Stevens, who took on five partners to open the new bar. “All the old-timers still seem to go there while this place attracts a younger local crowd and people staying in the airport hotels.”

The history of this industrial beach city nestled between Hughes Electronics, the Chevron Refinery and the Oakland Raiders training camp is at the heart of this pub, where locals flock for happy hour and tourists pass through in the night. In the dining room, a train circling above the booths lists El Segundo businesses on each of the boxcars. A photo display of all the fighter airplanes built on Douglas Street during World War II and a historic chronology of the South Bay hang from the walls.

And when the food arrives it’s served on paper place mats that are facsimiles of 1950s pages of the local paper, the El Segundo Herald.

Old-timers from the old Stick & Stein, Darryll and Linda Kalsbeeks of El Segundo switched to the new bar last year and stop in at least once a week for an order of ribs. They’ve met tourists from Australia, gathered with old friends and during football season, they say, bumping into one of the Raiders, who still practice in El Segundo, is not uncommon.

Cross over the carpet from the restaurant dining room into the bar and enter “El Segundo’s Field of Dreams.” Framed articles from the opening of Dewey Weber’s surf shop in the ‘60s adorn the walls along with a pair of wooden seats from Ebbets Field in Brooklyn where the Dodgers first played. Photos of George Brett, an El Segundo High School alumnus, are part of the extensive memorabilia collection that also includes a replica of Joe Namath’s football jersey. Stevens’ real pride and joy is the banister of the stairway leading to a party facility. It’s made of baseball bats.

Amid all this memorabilia, patrons have a choice of more than 15 draft beers that are tapped into several brass fire extinguishers. Some patrons play NTN, a national trivia game that flashes questions across the television screen. Those looking for something less thought-provoking play pool at the eight billiards tables.

Rick Riegler, Ed Blanks and Rod Barker say they’ve been coming here since the bar opened. They sip on Scotch in the evenings, bring clients on weekdays and say they’ll be watching Monday night football here when the season starts.

“This place is a great place to come when you want to have a few drinks and some fun,” said Blanks of Hermosa Beach.

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Where: Stick & Stein Eatery and Sports Parlor, 707 Sepulveda Blvd., El Segundo. (310) 414-9283.

When: Daily 6 a.m.-2 a.m.

Cost: The Stein Burger, $7.99; Chad & Jimmy (a rum and orange juice drink served in a 32-ounce schooner) $6.95; Budweiser, $2.75.