How A Century-Old Beach Bar Has Preserved The Spirit (and Spirits) Of Manhattan Beach
PubClub Classics is a series exploring the history and culture of people, places and events around the world. In this article, PubClub looks at Shellback Tavern, a legendary Manhattan Beach watering hole that has survived changing times while staying true to its beach bar roots.
By Kevin Wilkerson, Editor & Publisher, PubClub.com
As Manhattan Beach, a surf and sand community in the South Bay part of Los Angeles, goes more and more upscale with restaurants being called “dining concepts” and bars being mild drinking spots rather than the sometimes harmless but fun rambunctious spots of the past, there is Shellback Tavern.
It’s the Dorian Gray of Manhattan Beach. While everything around it changes, it remains the same.
Oh, the floor was upgraded a few years ago, a machine was installed that keeps the draft brews ice cold to the point that when you want to “grab a cold one,” you literally get one there and the beer company signs on the walls and ceiling change on occasion but for the most part it’s still the same place since it became Shellback Tavern in the 1970s.
Heck, even the crowd doesn’t change. Or the type of crowd anyway. Late afternoons, it’s beach volleyball players shedding sand and dropping large bags of volleyballs on the floor while they eat and drink, and at night it’s the youthful exuberance of the South Bay Beach Cities. Dotted among them are celebrities and sports stars but mostly locals and visitors whom locals take in there to show them thier local bar.
For decades it has been THE place to be during the AVP Manhattan Open beach volleyball tournaments, the 6-man (locals know, especially in its heyday) and the Manhattan Beach Holiday Fireworks and after finishing the Hometown Fair 10K. Occasionally during these hard-to-get-into times, owner Bob Beverly positions himself at the back door and waves in his regular customers so they don’t have to wait in a long line at the front door. I have been the fortunate recipient of this welcoming gesture quite a few times.
But it’s more than a lively drinking spot during events, it’s a watering hole for all days and nights. Its location overlooks the Manhattan Beach Pier, The Strand, the sand and the Pacific Ocean. The people watching out of its large windows is always changing and can keep you there, alone or with friends and I’ve done both, for cold beer after cold beer.
Or for when things get a bit crazy, as they often do after the volleyball events, the bar-famous Fanta Shots, an orange concoction served in a plastic cup that contains who-knows-what, but who cares we drink ’em anyway become a part of the party scene.
Shellback is a come-as-you-are, off-the-beach or off-The-Strand bar that pretty much defines what the community has long been about for decades. Shellback, and I can vouch for this from personal experiences, is the place locals go when they don’t want to take off their flip flops or wear something other than a tank top or t-shirt. While wearing one of its popular trucker hats.
The building itself has had several names through the years. It was built in 1922, making it more than 100 years old. It was originally Bach’s Cafe & Bakery, became Knothole during World War II, then Surf and and Shellback Surf Tavern. In 1973, Richard Swartz and Jim Korshall purchased the bar and renamed it Shellback Tavern. Beverly, who owned Grunion’s, eventually bought it to preseve it.
“It was known as Surf from the 40’s through early 70s,” Beverly said. “We now call it Shellback Tavern @ the surf.”
How Bob Beverly Preserved Manhattan Beach’s Iconic Dive Bar
Its slogan is “No Bad Days,” and Beverly fought hard to keep it that way. In 2003, an upscale Italian “dining concept” was scheduled to replace it, which including demolish the building. To Beverly and the community, this was like kicking sand in their face by a big bully and they stood their ground, prevailing to preserve a big part of Manhattan Beach’s history and culture.
“Having lived in Manhattan Beach all of my life, my main goal for owning Shellback Tavern was to maintain the feel of the small town community I grew up in, the old school feel of the local neighborhood gathering joint for friends and neighbors,” Beverly told PubClub.com.
“Building a team of the friendliest professional crew around and a simple business plan of offering a decent product at a fair price in a friendly environment has brought us our continued popularity among our legendary clientele.”
I wonder if he considers me part of the bar’s legendary clientele. haha. I would say so because he and the staff feel that way about all their customers. It’s part of what keeps Shellback Tavern, well Shellback Tavern, while things around it change.
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: La Paz To The Strand House, A Look At The Bars At This 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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