![\"NewPike03\"](\"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/NewPike03.jpg\")
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The new Pike Bar in Los Alamitos. Photos by Brian Addison<\/em><\/p>\n The Pike Bar & Grill is both a Long Beach icon and legend, serving up what many consider the best fish and chips in the city along with a vibrant atmosphere that is throughly unique to its space.<\/p>\n Given the popularity of its 4th Street location, it was only natural that Chris Reece–former drummer for punk band Social Distortion and owner of both Pikes–was looking to expand. What surprised many, however, was that the expansion was not made here in Long Beach, but in Los Alamitos, in the middle of a nondescript strip mall, where his new location unlocked its doors for a soft opening on Monday.<\/p>\n \u201cDrive by it a hundred times and you wouldn\u2019t know it was there,\u201d Reece said. \u201cBut I love it.\u201d<\/p>\n Reece is thrilled at the prospects of his 11272 Los Alamitos Blvd. location\u2014a sentiment he didn\u2019t share while he attempted for years to search for a second piece of real estate in Long Beach.<\/p>\n The Pike’s concept\u2014what many in Long Beach feel to be an inherent part of its cultural thread: nautical punk meets beer\u2019n\u2019grub\u2014was once set to fill the space at 145 W Broadway at the corner of Pacific and Broadway. Rejection after rejection, permit fight after permit fight led the space to become the now-defunct Port billiard hall\u2014and led Reece to give up on Long Beach and step outside to nearby Orange County.<\/p>\n The Los Al space is massive: at 5,500 sq. ft., the former Mr. B\u2019s Sports Bar now has the iconic teal blue and destressed street decorations that is unique to the Pike\u2019s LBC locale adorning its walls, while Reece looks to also add flair that highlights the area\u2019s own history (think horse races and Orange County freeway signs).<\/p>\n But the main reason Reece set his eyes on this location is one that is not uncommon in Long Beach: the parking police are nowhere in site.<\/p>\n \u201cAny project in Long Beach raises the question of parking\u2014parking, parking, parking,\u201d Reece said. \u201cYou either have none or you need ten bucks to park\u2014and that just turns people off. And I\u2019m at the intersection of three major freeways [here]. Win, win.\u201d<\/p>\n Though open right now, the new Pike is not fully up-and-running as renovations and decorating will continue over the coming months. They have, however, begun to offer a limited menu\u2014including their fish and chips\u2014and a new array of craft beers to what they hope will be a whole new set of Pike-sters, while catering to the crowd that came before.<\/p>\n \u201cWe want to showcase the local history and at the same time give them good food and beer,\u201d Reece said. \u201cEverything happens for a reason.\u201d<\/p>\n {FG_GEOMAP [33.7986239,-118.0714936] FG_GEOMAP}<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Given the Pike Bar & Grill’s popularity, it naturally makes sense that Chris Reece, the owner and operator, was looking to expand\u2014but not here in Long Beach, but in Los Alamitos in the middle of a nondescript strip mall, where his new location unlocked its doors for a soft opening on Monday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":211,"featured_media":68719,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"newspack_sponsor_sponsorship_scope":"","newspack_sponsor_native_byline_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_native_category_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_style":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_placement":"inherit","inline_featured_image":false,"newspack_ads_suppress_ads":false,"newspack_popups_has_disabled_popups":"","_EventAllDay":false,"_EventTimezone":"","_EventStartDate":"","_EventEndDate":"","_EventStartDateUTC":"","_EventEndDateUTC":"","_EventShowMap":false,"_EventShowMapLink":false,"_EventURL":"","_EventCost":"","_EventCostDescription":"","_EventCurrencySymbol":"","_EventCurrencyCode":"","_EventCurrencyPosition":"","_EventDateTimeSeparator":"","_EventTimeRangeSeparator":"","_EventOrganizerID":[],"_EventVenueID":[],"_OrganizerEmail":"","_OrganizerPhone":"","_OrganizerWebsite":"","_VenueAddress":"","_VenueCity":"","_VenueCountry":"","_VenueProvince":"","_VenueState":"","_VenueZip":"","_VenuePhone":"","_VenueURL":"","_VenueStateProvince":"","_VenueLat":"","_VenueLng":"","_VenueShowMap":false,"_VenueShowMapLink":false,"_":"","_author_alias":"","cap-aim":"","cap-description":"","cap-display_name":"","cap-first_name":"","cap-jabber":"","cap-last_name":"","cap-linked_account":"","cap-newspack_employer":"","cap-newspack_job_title":"","cap-newspack_phone_number":"","cap-newspack_role":"","cap-user_email":"","cap-user_login":"","cap-website":"","cap-yahooim":"","newspack_article_summary":"","newspack_email_html":"","newspack_email_type":"","newspack_featured_image_position":"","newspack_hide_page_title":"","newspack_hide_updated_date":false,"newspack_post_subtitle":"","newspack_show_share_buttons":"","newspack_sponsor_byline_prefix":"","newspack_sponsor_disclaimer_override":"","newspack_sponsor_flag_override":"","newspack_sponsor_only_direct":"","newspack_sponsor_url":"","newspack_article_summary_title":"Overview:","newspack_show_updated_date":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[502,1476,1477,1478],"newspack_spnsrs_tax":[],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-3466","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-food","tag-4th-street","tag-bar","tag-los-alamitos","tag-the-pike","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3466","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/211"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3466"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3466\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/68719"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3466"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3466"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3466"},{"taxonomy":"newspack_spnsrs_tax","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/newspack_spnsrs_tax?post=3466"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=3466"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"NewPike01\"](\"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/NewPike01.jpg\")
\u201cI looked at Pine Avenue a few years back and they really didn\u2019t want me down there,\u201d Reece said. \u201cThey didn\u2019t welcome me to Downtown Long Beach, to be quite honest. They wanted Pine Avenue for convention people, they wanted a bunch of corporate chains. They just didn\u2019t like my concept\u2014and in the end, I\u2019m honestly happy it didn\u2019t work out.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"NewPike04\"](\"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/NewPike04.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"NewPike02\"](\"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/NewPike02.jpg\")
Mr. B\u2019s, like many neighborhood watering holes, had its tried-and-true patrons who visited the joint often and those regulars were The Pike’s first customers this week. To help with the transition, Reece and crew held onto three of the former Mr. B\u2019s servers in the hopes that old patrons will become new fans. After all, the space is home to the Los Al Rotary Club, who meets in an old-school room in the back that is packed with arcade games.<\/p>\n