{"id":83231,"date":"2024-08-02T07:42:16","date_gmt":"2024-08-02T14:42:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/hi-lo\/?p=83231"},"modified":"2024-08-02T07:45:36","modified_gmt":"2024-08-02T14:45:36","slug":"joe-josts-100-anniversary-oldest-bar-long-beach-history","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/hi-lo\/food\/joe-josts-100-anniversary-oldest-bar-long-beach-history","title":{"rendered":"Joe Jost\u2019s is turning 100; read the history of Long Beach\u2019s oldest bar before you celebrate"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

PEZ candy, penicillin and the common car radio. Joe Jost\u2019s,\u00a0the iconic bar on Anaheim Street in Long Beach\u2019s Zaferia neighborhood, predates them all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Aug. 10, the bar will celebrate 100 years in business, with $30,000 in ticket sales for the centennial event<\/a> going to the Long Beach Century Club<\/a> for scholarships to support amateur athletes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., patrons who purchased a $30 ticket for the day\u2019s events<\/a> will get a beverage of choice, a Joe\u2019s Special sandwich and one of the bar\u2019s famous pickled eggs along with a commemorative coin stating \u201cI was there.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Originally founded by Hungarian immigrant Joe Jost in 1920 on Main Street in Newport Beach, the business landed in Long Beach in 1924 as a combination barber shop that also offered billiards and poker.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When prohibition was repealed in late 1933, the bar began serving beer along with Joe\u2019s Special Polish sausage sandwiches with a slice of Swiss cheese, a pickle and mustard on rye bread.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Ashley Coor looks on as her husband Brandon eats a pickled egg while visiting Joe Jost as the bar celebrates its 100th anniversary in Long Beach, Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024. The Coors came from Fullerton to visit the bar. Photo by Thomas R. Cordova<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

During its 100-year history, the bar has changed hands twice \u2014 all in the family. The latest owner is Jost\u2019s grandson Ken Buck, a lifelong Long Beach resident who currently resides by Marine Stadium.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Buck, 74, has been involved in the business for nearly 50 years. His mom inherited half of Joe Jost\u2019s in 1975, but the family had to choose whether to sell his dad\u2019s beer distributorship or Joe Jost\u2019s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They kept the now iconic bar and Buck eventually bought out the other half to become the sole owner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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“Joe Jost’s is a Long Beach institution and part of the fabric of our city,” the area\u2019s councilmember, Cindy Allen, said. “For 100 years, this establishment has been serving some of the coldest beers and tastiest sandwiches and snacks in the city. I have countless great memories there, and I’m thrilled they are still here after all these years, operating successfully and serving our community.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Starting Monday and continuing for five consecutive days, Joe Jost\u2019s will donate 50% of all food and beverage sales to local nonprofit organizations. The beneficiaries<\/a> include Fisher House Southern California, the Long Beach Fire Fighters Association, the Long Beach Police Officers Association, the Long Beach Ronald McDonald House and Pathways to Independence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe knew that we wouldn\u2019t be able to get everyone in here in one day and I wanted to give everybody an opportunity to come down and support their charity of choice,\u201d Buck said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To this day, all of the bar\u2019s offerings are written on a chalkboard menu. There\u2019s no paper menus or QR codes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Ken Buck, owner of Joe Jost as the bar celebrates its 100th anniversary in Long Beach, Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024. Photo by Thomas R. Cordova<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The aforementioned Joe\u2019s Special sandwich runs you $3.70. A hot dog is $2.95 and a schooner of beer ranges from $5.75 to $8.50.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The bar\u2019s pickled eggs ($1.95 each or nine for $17.60) have also been a staple since the mid-1930s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Marmion\u2019s peanuts \u2014 Grade AA jumbo Virginia peanuts served in the bar for $4.95 a pound \u2014 date back to 1907. In the mid-80s, Buck bought the peanut roaster from the Marmion family. It\u2019s still in operation pumping out nuts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Buck estimated that the bar sells roughly 1,200 to 1,500 pounds of peanuts a month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPeople feel comfortable here,\u201d Buck said. \u201cBecause we have maintained it as it was, as much as possible, it makes them feel comfortable to come back.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Joe Jost’s T-shirts are worn by its customers while at the bar as it celebrates its 100th anniversary in Long Beach, Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024. Photo by Thomas R. Cordova<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Over the years, countless actors have set foot in Joe Jost\u2019s to film. Notable names include Kevin Costner, Tom Cruise, Angelina Jolie and Robert DeNiro.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During the centennial celebration, the bar\u2019s TVs will show historic B-roll footage with the earliest photos dating back to the 1950s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the 1930s, the local barber\u2019s commission forced Jost to make a choice after finding out he was cutting hair in the same place he served beer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s safe to say he made the right one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Joe Jost\u2019s is open every day from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. at 2803 E Anaheim St.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Long gone are the days when you could get a haircut with your beer, but pieces of history, like the Joe\u2019s Special sandwich and Marmion\u2019s peanuts, are alive and well.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":23521,"featured_media":83227,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","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":[167],"newspack_spnsrs_tax":[],"coauthors":[32323],"class_list":["post-83231","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-food","tag-bars","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83231","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\/23521"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=83231"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83231\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":83241,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83231\/revisions\/83241"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/83227"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=83231"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=83231"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=83231"},{"taxonomy":"newspack_spnsrs_tax","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/newspack_spnsrs_tax?post=83231"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=83231"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}