One Oceanfront Location, Several Legendary Bars And Decades Of South Bay Memories
Before The Strand House became one of Manhattan Beach’s premier oceanfront restaurants, the same location was home to some of the South Bay’s most legendary bars and party scenes. From the wild Sunday afternoons at La Paz to Sunsets, Beaches and today’s upscale dining destination, here’s a look at the building’s colorful nightlife history.
By Kevin Wilkerson, Editor & Publisher, PubClub.com
You can change the name of a building but you can’t erase its history.
You can change the decor, redesign the floor plan and transform a place from a dark biker bar to an upscale restaurant. But its heritage remains in place.
Such is the case with the location of The Strand House in Manhattan Beach, a gorgeous ocean-front restaurant in Manhattan Beach, CA. It is a symbol of the upscale community around it, a beautiful representative of its scenic location.
But that property has a very interesting history with the places that preceded it. Before The Strand House it was home to some of Manhattan Beach’s most lively bars and party scenes. PubClub.com was there for a lot of it and looks at the building’s transformation from a dark biker bar with an awesome party patio to today’s fine dining establishment.
From La Paz To The Strand House: A Quick History Of The Location
The Original La Paz
A packed, sunlit upstairs patio with beachgoers, 12-ounce beer cups and an unforgettable bare tree with a partygoer perched in its branches.
Sunsets / Beaches / La Paz revival
A brighter, more finished bar interior, the enclosed patio, crowds from the Manhattan Beach Open and Trish the Dish behind the bar with her locally-famous margaritas.
3. The Strand House
A contemporary ocean-view restaurant, showing the dramatic change in the atmosphere in the same location.
The Original La Paz: A Legendary Manhattan Beach Sunday Party
When I first moved to the South Bay Beach Cities in the late 1980s, the first thing I learned if I wanted to be a part of the social scene was that I had to go to La Paz on a Sunday afternoon. Not only that, I had to be there before 3 o’clock because any later and I would be standing in a line that would not move. Oh, and don’t go downstairs. Don’t even look there; go immediately up the small set of stairs.
At the end of those stairs was a back patio and it was to be my Sunday afternoon bar home for the next several months. It had a tall blonde bartender who put out beers in little white cups on the bar; you would pay her and grab one. Or better yet two or three. The patio had South Bay party people and mingling was the name of the game, It also had a small, frail tree with no leaves. In it, every week a girl used it as her perch. As time went on people got buzzed and more buzzed, met other single people and peeled off for a night of a memorable (or not) encounter and then did it all over again the next Sunday.
There were rumors flying around that the bar was closing, that it was going upscale. So the word on the street was “this is the last weekend of La Paz” and things got even more intense. As it turned out, that “last weekend” lasted for about six months but eventually the owners, Pat and Jerry whom I began to know, did indeed close it to remodel and go “upscale.”
It would not take much go “upscale” from the original La Paz because one day before going upstairs I took a look at the downstairs bar. It was a dark biker bar. Half a dozen biker types were sitting at the bar. I always found it interesting that upstairs from this dreary environment was one of the most active singles pickup scenes in the history of Manhattan Beach.
But only on Sunday afternoons.
Sunsets, Beaches And The Return Of The Name La Paz
Eventually La Paz did close but thankfully its more “upscale” remodel was still beach party friendly. In fact, I liked it better because it became more than a one-afternoon bar. It was called Sunsets and when I asked the owners, Pat and Jerry, about the change they said it was “because we wanted to make money more than one day a week.”
You see, the original La Paz was only popular on Sunday afternoons on that patio. I don’t know why and even went a couple Saturdays and it was empty. But why question why; just be there when it’s happening and that’s the entire premise of PubClub!
Sunsets quickly became part of the South Bay nightlife scene. On Fridays, in fact, there was direct line there from Tequila Willie’s, the after-work bar in Manhattan Village Mall. Sunsets was also very lively during the AVP Manhattan Beach Open beach volleyball tournaments. It was also the after-party place for the dozens of people who would emerge from the every-weekend house parties at 1300 The Strand next door, of which I was a big part of at the time.
It also had a beautiful and super-friendly bartender named Trish, whom my friend and I quickly named Trish the Dish. Trish also made the best margaritas I have ever had in my life. We ordered them so often that when she saw us walk in the bar, she would start making them. We called them Trish Margaritas. They set the tone for everything that happened next.
The “upscale” remodel took advantage of its location right on The Strand at the Manhattan Beach Pier with a nice bar and big windows looking out at the beach and Pacific Ocean. The steps to the patio became an afterthought. In fact, there was no patio at all, it was just a small catch-your-breath place between the action on the main floor and a new second-level dining room.
Eventually, things slowed down to the point the owners renamed the place twice. Once it was to Beaches and then back to La Paz in an attempt to reclaim some of its past legacy. One time on a slow night I saw one of the owners, Pat, and he confessed, “we made money more than one day a week but really, I wish we never would have changed it.”
Heck, I am glad they did it because myself and many others had a heck of a lot of fun in that place regardless of its name.
The Strand House: A New Era For A Historic Manhattan Beach Location
In August of 2011, La Paz/Beaches/Sunsets and La Paz 2 became The Strand House.
A project of local restaurateur Michael Zislis, who built the successful Zislis Group out of the Manhattan Beach Brewing Company, this upscale eatery transformed the location from prime party place into a quieter dining-first business.
But Mike is wise enough to let the South Bay be the South Bay and sometimes, when the upscale diners are enjoying fine meals upstairs, there’s a bit of a party happening downstairs. In fact, local long-time party band Joe’s Band plays there on occasion and that brings in a fun and lively crowd of social-minded South Bay residents.
So you see, you can indeed change the name of a building but you can’t erase its history.
Memories Of La Paz From Longtime Manhattan Beach Locals
Kevin Wilkerson is the founder of PubClub.com, an award-winning journalist and former South Bay resident who spent years living in Hermosa Beach and covering its nightlife scene. He has covered destinations, events and entertainment for more than two decades and received an Associated Press award for investigative journalism while working as a newspaper reporter.
Next Stops On The Manhattan Beach Party Bus
• Remembering The Original Sharkeez Location
• PubClub Classics: The Manhattan Beach 6-Man With Historic Photos
• Top 10 All-Time Iconic South Bay Bars
• Top 10 All-Time Iconic South Bay Bands
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