Back when Chris Reece first opened up the Pike Restaurant and Bar two decades ago at its current location on fourth street, it was all but gang-infested and screamed “rough neighborhood”. Being a punk band Social Distortion’s drummer, this didn’t faze him – he was already well into his fight against the machine, and never seemed to fit in anywhere. The place slowly became home.
Reece slowly but surely converted what was once a ‘50s-futuristic-themed diner by the name of Chipper’s Corner into a funky seafood bar and restaurant, situated on a strip which they now call Retro Row. And back in that time, Reece could afford to own a house in the Long Beach neighborhood, so he ended up staying.
Apart from live entertainment, you have a menu that includes entries from Reece’s days touring, such as the fish and chips he loved while in London, the fish tacos he enjoyed in Mexico, and so on. Beachy weekend specials include avocado toast and breakfast burritos, plus a selection of beefy burgers, beer and sandwiches.
“In all my touring days, I realized that the money was in the booze, not playing the drums,” Reece says, “I played gigs where the waitresses were making more money than me. I was always familiar with the business because I had worked in restaurants and bars to support my music career in the beginning, and I always wanted to open one of my own. I opened in 2002 and it was a real struggle back then. It was a different city and neighborhood at the time. It was a pretty rough side of town. There was a lot of gang violence and crime, but we persevered, and we’re still at it.”
Reece says the puck resistance is responsible for his longevity as well as the bar’s success, the latter having a strong musical draw. It’s considered one of the neighborhood’s finest watering holes and restaurants, and after dark it turns into a nightclub till 2 a.m. Through experience, Reese has learned that a decent band can easily bring people around to the Pike, as well as draw a crowd.
“I grew up in punk rock and we had our backs against the wall all the time,” he says. “We weren’t really loved by the police or the establishment, and just did things our way. Somehow, you find a way to survive. We were rebelling against the music at the time, like Journey, Pink Floyd and bands like that, that were on the radio. We didn’t really like that kind of music, it was just too commercial, so we set out to play music our way and stuck to it and didn’t change the recipe over the years to satisfy a record label or radio programmers. I’m still just trying to make a buck.”
On almost any night you’re likely to find bands and musicians such as King Flamingo, The Rails & Acolyte Drugstore Dharma, Long Beach Jazz Jam, Sink Drinkers, and Plastic Horseshoes. These attract crowds of all ages, and a lot of the time even Reece himself can be found jamming with The Crowd’s Jim Kaa.
Kaa hails from the Huntington Beach area and sprung up from its skate and surf puck scene around the late ‘70s. He currently serves as CEO and president of Polly’s Pies, which came into being in 1968, and has ownership of 10 KFCs. Kaa has collaborated with many other restaurant brands, such as Bubba Gump and Veggie Grill. He can be found playing on the weekends at places like Long Beach’s Alex’s Bar, along with his band 16 Again. Kaa still produces vinyl records.
“I was getting a degree in accounting at Long Beach state university and took a different tact than Chris,” Kaa says. “We were one of those bands in ‘78 playing parties, opening for the Cramps at the Whiskey. I was scared to death. Look, I wanted to play parties so I could meet girls. When I started playing in 1978, I didn’t have a grand idea that I was going to be a rock star with records and merchandise. Back then we didn’t think about merchandising and records. You’d play a show, meet people from other bands. We were friends with the Flyboys from Arcadia and met Robbie Fields of Posh Boy, who we were originally going to do a single with and ended up recording the Beach Boulevard album with him. That helped blow open the doors for Orange County punk rock at the time.”
“I’m a passionate and intense person, and still playing music keeps me sane,” he says. I’m lucky enough to be the president of a large restaurant company, which is a hard and stressful job – even in the best of times it can be brutal. I played at the Pike on Friday night, and when people are happy and having a drink and some fish and chips, we’re playing songs they like, it’s such a great vibe for everybody.”
“I can’t write songs like I was 19 because it would sound stupid and hollow. I have to write about people going through divorces and losing friends. It’s sad to see that happen. You see the big split happen over the years – tons of people get sober and so many of the successful rock guys we know are sobriety people because they’ve seen the dark side when they were young. They came out of that realizing that’s never the answer. We’ve lost so many people to alcohol and drug abuse. You don’t think about what it’s doing to you when you’re 30, or realize what it’s going to do to you when you’re 50. Everybody has the opportunity to be young and dumb, but when you get to a certain age, it doesn’t fly anymore. When you’re 45 saying sorry dude, I just got too hammered, it rings pretty hollow for everyone.”
