For years – yes, years – Santa Monica residents have wondered what was happening at 925 Wilshire Blvd suite C ever since a public notice appeared on the door indicating an application for a permit to sell alcoholic beverages, back in February 2022. The name of the establishment on that permit application was “JP’s Sports Bar & Grill.”
For a while at least, it seemed like that one block on Wilshire was stuck in some sort of relativity bubble, where time passed more slowly inside than it did for the rest of Santa Monica. And this casual, cryptic piece of paper hastily taped to the door window joined the signage of the Local Cannabis Company next door, teasing residents like an eternally unobtainable carrot at the end of an infinitely long stick.
But now, we’re being rewarded for our patience. Not only has the Local Cannabis Company finally been allowed to open and sell recreational marijuana, but it seems the rumors were true and JP’s Sports Bar & Grill is set to reopen, just one block west from its original location.
“This was already zoned as retail and we really wanted to stay in the same area, because this represents our demographic and the original site was right up the street, so we picked this location and we really wanted it,” Alexander Kallberg, owner of JP’s told the Daily Press, adding, “Typically, if you pick a site, it’s already zoned to be a bar or restaurant and we had to rezone this place. So that took us about a year’s process with the City.”
Practically a local landmark, JP’s is reopening while other local favorites like Dagwoods or even Buffalo Exchange are gone. It is in fact among the oldest standalone watering holes in Santa Monica. According to Kallberg, it goes all the way back to the 1940s and was originally a little pharmacy called The Airlines, back in the halcyon heyday of Donald Douglas et al. It eventually transformed into a bar and then at some point during the 70s two brothers from Jamaica Plain in Boston bought it. A few years after that, Kallberg’s family took it over and he relocated it to a bigger site after it closed in early 2021.
“That’s where JP’s comes from – Jamaica Plain,” laughs Kallberg.
“We knew that the move was inevitable, because the other building was very old. We had to take out clay pipes, that’s how old it was. And the ceiling was about to collapse. So, if we were going to dedicate a substantial investment, we decided it would be better to move to a new building, that was inevitable. It just took longer than we hoped, which of course was made worse with COVID,” he says, adding, “Despite one or two hurdles we still have to clear, we’re hopeful we’re going to be open in a matter of weeks, in time for the Super Bowl.”
Credit: Scott Snowden
While still resembling a construction site, a tour of the interior reveals a big, spacious main room that Kallberg says will hopefully, eventually incorporate around 25 television screens. The windows will feature heavy blackout-style curtains and a large, centrally-placed bar with screens encircling it. Despite not having a specific concept design to adhere to, Kallberg says he’s taking inspiration from a number of bars he’s been to in Las Vegas. Kallberg says that this is three times the size of the old venue and will have double the floor space.
The back end of the venue will incorporate a second large area with pool tables and television screens and then there’s a medium-sized kitchen that will offer bar-style food like burgers, wings and so on. Despite the old bar having a tenuous connection to Cleveland-based sports teams, Kallberg stresses this bar will not have a concrete affiliation with any one sports team or city.
“If people want to come in and watch a game, any game, then they can,” he says, even rugby. “Our aim here is to create an environment where people can just come and hang out, they can prop the bar up and talk to complete strangers in a relaxed environment, if they want to.
“We want to accommodate everyone, but if a big group calls ahead or gets in early and wants to watch something specific, then it’s very much a first come, first served basis.”