On Thursday, Sept. 3, as the sun was setting, nearly 40 bussers and bartenders congregated in the parking lot outside of Alex’s Bar on Anaheim Street. Many hugged, others fist-bumped. There were shouts of joy and exclamation at seeing their colleagues once again. For many, it had been six months since they had last seen each other. For others, it had been years. Generations of Alex’s Bar staff had gathered in front of the 20-year-old bar to take a group photo—one they hope will help save their beloved bar.
“We’re out here trying to bring awareness to our plight,” said Alex Hernandez, the proprietor of Alex’s Bar. “We’ve been closed since March 16, with no guidance, no help, nothing from leadership as far as when or how we can reopen. We’re six months into this with zero revenue and it’s starting to look grim for a lot of us.”
It’s a situation all too familiar; dozens of bars throughout the city have remained shuttered since the COVID-19 pandemic prompted all “non-essential” businesses to shut down. Many without full kitchens have been prevented from reopening, as have businesses without available patio space to serve outside. Without any foreseeable relief, local bars are calling out to the community, asking them to spread the word and write their local representatives.
Some 14 bar owners and counting have recently organized themselves into the Long Beach Bar Coalition, hoping that in numbers comes strength. Two day ago, a GoFundMe campaign was launched in support of Alex’s Bar, seeking $20,000 to help with rent and other costs. As of Sept. 5, they’d raised more than $18,000.
“Alex’s family has always treated us so well. It didn’t seem like anyone else was jumping in, so I was like, ‘Why not start a GoFundMe?,'” said Cherokee McCluskey, a longtime friend and former employee, who created the campaign. “Throughout this whole thing, he’s been trying to support all the other bars and venues in the area. That act of selflessness, to me, is very much deserving of some help from the community.”
In their latest push to spread awareness and garner support from the community, Alex’s Bar and 12 other bar owners organized a photo shoot with their staffs in front of their businesses and posted them on social media.
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