I recently found an old membership plaque from The Marlin Club. We enjoyed ourselves at this old time place on many visits back in the day. Someone
once told me it was the oldest tavern in San Diego, but I was somewhat doubtful and said the oldest bar was the Tivoli Bar & Grill, downtown San
Diego..or maybe the Waterfront Bar & Grill in Little Italy.
The Marlin Club is found on a favorite stop for us...Shelter Island. Well-known to promote sports fishing in the area.
Is the little tavern still operating?
[Edited on 7-15-2015 by Pompano]woody with a view - 7-14-2015 at 07:32 PM
yes. a couple of weeks ago I passed by and there was a medium specimen hanging upside down.Pompano - 7-14-2015 at 07:48 PM
Thanks for that and I realize that the fishing club is still in existence, but was interested in the tavern part of the Marlin Club. Anyone been
there lately?BornFisher - 7-14-2015 at 08:31 PM
Can`t answer your question but I joined one year about 25 years ago. They asked me for my name. I said 'Bill Fisher". They all smiled and said "with a
name like that, the membership should be complimentary"!!!
And then they said "just kidding" and charged me $125!!!chuckie - 7-15-2015 at 02:39 AM
I sorta cheated and googled it, has a review or two, most current from 2011,and is still an active listing in the phone book....Never a member but was
in there a couple of times in the 50's.....Pompano - 7-15-2015 at 08:07 AM
Thanks for doing the search, chuckie. Glad to hear that favorite old tavern is still opening it's doors.
We met a bunch of fine characters there back in the 70's and 80's. Many of whom were or would become Baja friends and neighbors in Baja Sur. We
liked the atmosphere because the place had a Baja flair, as did other taverns of the time...like Cass Street Bar & Hennessy's in Pacific Beach. I
guess Hennessy's has closed their doors these days, but I see Cass Street is still open. Always fun places to stop for a beer/lunch and chat about
Baja memories.chuckie - 7-15-2015 at 08:59 AM
AND The "Little club" in Coronado....could walk to that one....Sometimes had a problem walking back...Pompano - 7-15-2015 at 09:35 AM
Hah...yes, chuckie, I forgot to mention the Little Club tavern on Coronado. I've stopped in there while over to the island to visit a fellow
Nomad...Vince.. a fine friend and neighbor from Coyote Bay.
That little bar is a great find..seems like something we had at home a long time ago...right out of history..and a great place for a conversation over
a pitcher of cold brew that is reasonably priced. Like the Marlin Club bar, I hope it never changes. Of course, you can't believe all the sailor and
pilot stories you'll hear in these places, but it's great entertainment.StuckSucks - 7-15-2015 at 10:50 AM
Appears to be still there - this Google Street View was taken in March 2015:
Pompano - 7-15-2015 at 11:48 AM
Thanks StuckSucks, nice of you to do that. I guess Google has taken all the legwork out of finding facts and answering any questions. It's a brave
new world and anything is possible! I fear I'm still a bit of a dinosaur.chuckie - 7-15-2015 at 11:49 AM
Little Club was a real den of iniquity...Marine officers, fighter pilots and other low class ruffians denned up there Pompano - 7-15-2015 at 12:05 PM
Little Club was a real den of iniquity...Marine officers, fighter pilots and other low class ruffians denned up there
You got that right! I scratched around a found this photo of a few of us sharing stories. We are best summed up with this old description of
fishermen:
He ariseth early and disturbeth the whole household. He maketh mighty preparations and fareth forth full of hope. He returneth late smelling of
strong drink and...the truth is not in him!
FUN TIMES!chuckie - 7-15-2015 at 12:55 PM
Those wolflike eyes peering out of the darkness may be mine...in those days my nickname was "Wolflike eyes peering out of the darkness".....elgatoloco - 7-15-2015 at 01:16 PM
Road my bicycle down and had lunch at Cass St. Bar and Grill Monday. Had the surf and turf sandwich and a Twisted Manzanita IPA. Still great. Still a
dive. Sit at the open window and watch the world go by. The lunch crowd is mostly the older set and most evenings and weekends it is SRO with locals
trending toward the 20 somethings except for the bar stools which are usually full up with the same crew that was there at lunch. Pompano - 7-15-2015 at 02:57 PM
We used to like the Oriental Salad dinners when at the Cass St. Bar, but don't like stools so we took one of the street side tables. Glad to hear the
place has not changed that much.
Hey, it sounds just like most popular cantinas in Baja Sur.
[Edited on 7-15-2015 by Pompano]
Hijack sort of
durrelllrobert - 7-15-2015 at 03:43 PM
Shelter island was built up from a sand bar, visible at low tide only, and developed by C. Arnoldt Smith in the early 1950 because he couldn't find a
decent place to dock his yacht in San Diego Bay. His 31 acre parcel became location for his very private and exclusive Kona Kai club and marina.
Smith dropped out of San Diego High School at 15 to work as a grocery clerk and then as a messenger for the Bank of Italy (now the Bank of America).
By the early 1970's his empire included the Westgate-California Corporation (National Steel and Ship Building + the Westgate hotel)
and its vast real-estate developments, seafood canneries, silver mines, transportation companies and the Padres, which he bought in 1955 for $300,000
when it was a minor league team. in
1979 convicted of embezelment and went to prisonchuckie - 7-15-2015 at 04:12 PM
