THE VERDICT

Robert Gardner

Sid Soffer has been a fugitive longer than David Janssen.

The reason? A difference of opinion between Sid and Judge Susie Shaw. The

origins of this difference are lost in the shades of antiquity or, as we

lawyers say, “Beyond which the memory of man runneth naught.” You can’t

beat us lawyers when it comes to screwing up an easy concept. Anyway, to

simplify the matter, Judge Susie wants to put Sid in jail. Sid doesn’t

want to go to jail. As a result of this difference of opinion, Sid is

living in Las Vegas. I suppose that if you can’t live in Newport Beach,

living in Las Vegas is better than living in Siberia or Afghanistan.

Since I like both Sid and Judge Susie I shall say nothing more about

their differences of opinion; however, since Sid is an integral part of

the following article, I felt I should explain his absence.

This is an abbreviated history of the oldest bar in Newport Beach. It is

located on that funny little half street known as 21st Street in old

Newport Beach. This bar has been known during the last 87 years either as

“Stark’s” or “Sid’s Blue Beet.”In 1912 (a year after I was born) a man

named Henry Stark opened a saloon on that street. To insure that no one

would have any doubt as to the business being located there, Mr. Stark

went to Cripple Creek, Colo., and purchased the back bar from an

authentic gold rush-style saloon and installed it in his saloon. Those

were the days of “local option.” From time to time Newport Beach was

either “dry” or “wet.” All that didn’t make too much difference to Mr.

Stark since he kept open during both the “dry” years and the “wet” years.

When Prohibition arrived, Mr. Stark treated the law with lofty

indifference and remained open. In those days this was a tolerant town.

After Henry Stark died, his son-in-law, Bert Oquist, ran the place until

Sid Soffer came along during the mid-60s and bought it. He renamed in

“Sid’s Blue Beet,” and it became an immediate smash hit, an interesting

place to go.

Sid made certain changes. He dispensed with the services of Dollar Dolly,

an ancient lady of the evening who trolled Stark’s and its next door

neighbor, Tom Carson’s Stag, in search of customers.

Sid also closed the town’s oldest twenty-four hour poker game that had

been running without interruption since 1912. When the saloon closed at 2

a.m., they simply closed the door between the bar and the poker game, and

the game went on until the saloon opened at 6.

Sid ran the place a few years, then for several more years leased it to

various people who always ran it as Sid’s Blue Beet. Then one night one

of his tenants got a little careless, and the place burned down. The

Cripple Creek back bar was damaged but not destroyed.

In the meantime, Sid had bought Whiskey Bill’s old saloon and was running

it as a highly successful restaurant and bar. At the same time, he had

moved the old back bar to his new place and was refurbishing it when his

troubles with Judge Susie developed and he departed for Las Vegas.

At present, Steve Lewis has taken over the Blue Beet and has effected a

reincarnation of the old Blue Beet. It is still Sid’s Blue Beet, but a

notice at the door says that Sid is not there. I don’t drive any more, so

I haven’t been there, but I am advised that it is very popular and very

successful.

So that is the story of the oldest saloon in Newport Beach. I don’t see

how our city can ignore this historical treasure. If the city can put a

bronze tablet on the site of the Rendezvous ballroom, I think it should

do the same for Stark’s saloon/Sid’s Blue Beet.

JUDGE GARDNER is a Corona del Mar resident and former judge. His column

runs Tuesdays.