Dan’s Irish Sports Bar at 1524 Civic Drive in downtown Walnut Creek may be forced to leave its current location due to a lease dispute, according to the bar’s owner. For the time being, the bar is encouraging patrons to stop by and say their goodbyes.
Saul Tallarico, who began working at Dan’s in 1996 and has owned the bar since 2011, said the bar has existed in its current location for more than 55 years. But now, Tallarico expects the odds are slim that the bar remains at that location.
“Who are we if we’re not human, if we don’t hold out hope for some sort of Hail Mary?” he wondered out loud.
“[But] is that the likelihood? Probably not? That’s why I’m looking at other spaces,” he continued.
Tallarico claims he negotiated in good faith to renew his lease, but that the property manager “kept moving the goalposts” and asked him to pay an additional $500,000 on top of rent payments to match an offer from a new competing tenant.
Tallarico has concerns about how this lease dispute was handled and has filed civil litigation against the property manager, landlord, and competing tenant in Contra Costa County. We have reached out to the parties named in this litigation, but have notreceivedd a response.
Meanwhile, there is no clear timeline for a potential closure.
“Come visit us while we’re still here, come in, take your pictures,” said Alona Lettner, a bartender at Dan’s, who noted that over the past few weeks many people have been dropping in as news spreads about the likely end to the bar’s time on Civic Drive.
On Saturday, plenty of people dropped in to visit the bar to squeeze in a few more memories.
“I think we’ve all met a lot of our good friends here, we’ve celebrated many birthdays,” noted Patrick Yang of Concord, who said he’d been going to Dan’s from the time he was old enough to drink.
Regulars did not mince words about how important this spot is to them.
“This is our local ‘Cheers’,” said Walnut Creek resident Brittany Grinnel.
“And if it goes away, I promise you, I’ll move out of Walnut Creek. Walnut Creek is becoming way too commercial,” said Grinnel.
Tallarico said that even if the bar is forced to move, he plans to look for another location in Walnut Creek to relocate Dan’s and the Dan’s staff.
“Doors will be open here as long as we can keep them open, and then hopefully we find this next place, and this next place will be the next magical spot,” Tallarico said.
