I wanted to live in Land Park but couldn’t afford it. That’s how I ended up moving to Pocket in 1990.
The first house I fell in love with was on Marty Way two blocks south of Broadway. What I loved most was that I could walk from the front door—or shuffle with age—to Tower Theatre or Joe Marty’s saloon in under four minutes.
But the Marty Way house was out of my league. I couldn’t put down enough money or qualify for the mortgage.
Stalking Realtor signs, I worked my way south and ended up living a block from the Pocket canal. Tower Theatre was 13 miles away. The nearest place to enjoy a cold beer required a 12-minute walk to Promenade shopping center. Shuffling was out of the question.
That’s when I decided the biggest problem with Pocket and Greenhaven is the lack of places to enjoy a quiet drink. The lack of what sociologists call a third place.
There are locations in Pocket and Greenhaven to sip a cold beer. The Trap has been a rustic watering hole since Grover Cleveland was president. But below 43rd Avenue, beer and wine and cocktail taverns are mirages in a desert of suburban two-car garages.
When I moved to Pocket, there was consensus among my neighbors that the right number of nearby liquor licenses was zero.
Each time I mentioned how nice it would be to have joint with a blinking neon cocktail glass—this happened daily around 4 p.m.—they looked at me as if I said Pocket needs a rendering factory.
When I told a neighbor Pocket could benefit from a place like Round Corner Tavern, the 1940s dive bar at 24th and S streets, he suggested I move to 25th and T.
Pocket was built for churches and schools and parks. Neighbors value youth soccer and early bedtimes, not gin mills that bolt the door at 2 a.m.
There was a neighborhood bar in Pocket 35 years ago with the unfortunate name of Crickets. Decor was vaguely Irish, the atmosphere more cartoonish than Gaelic.
Crickets was in the Promenade across from Bel Air. It disappeared after a couple of years and became a Tuesday Morning home goods store.
Decades after Crickets died, Device Brewing moved in with dreams of building a family-friendly hospitality empire. Device folded last year. Now Block Craft Beer + Kitchen commands the corner. I pray the neighbors love Block.
I’m not suggesting Pocket, Greenhaven and Land Park need an entertainment district. Sacramento has enough entertainment districts.
Around the Grid, there’s Handle, Sutter, DoCo, K Street, R Street, Old Sac, Ice Blocks, Lavender Heights and Broadway. More booze is headed for the railyards. At some point, bars outnumber drinkers.
But if I had money, I’d build a copy of Round Corner Tavern in Lake Crest Village. A perfect replica, down to the green and red neon sign.
Plus, I’d buy a bungalow on Marty Way.
R.E. Graswich can be reached at regraswich@icloud.com. Follow us on Facebook, X and Instagram: @insidesacramento.
