Shellback Tavern: Best of the Beach 2018 Neighborhood bar, Sports bar
Shellback Tavern owner Bob Beverly. Photo
Almost everything changed in Downtown Manhattan Beach over the last couple decades as the formerly sleepy, little beach town became an affluent and even fashionable destination. The Shellback abides, as it has for 53 years now. Despite occupying one of the most valuable pieces of land in Southern California, perched just above the pier, the Shellback has transcended even its status as a local institution; it has become bastion of the resistance, a place one can still find the ramshackle old soul of Manhattan Beach.
“Something we hear all the time, people say that coming in to the Shellback to get a beer and to sit back and look at the pier — it could be the ‘40s, the ‘50s, or the ‘60s because that view has not changed,” said owner Bob Beverly. “It’s when you look the other way, that’s where the changes are. It’s like the Led Zeppelin song, ‘Look to the West’… We try to keep it pretty simple. I always figured all businesses are kind of the same — offer a decent product at a fair price in a friendly environment, and you can’t go wrong.”
Several times over the years big offers have come in to buy the Shellback, but to Beverly this is about more than money.
“I’ve lived in Manhattan Beach all my life, and most of my employees are from Manhattan Beach,” he said. “We just try to keep something alive in an ever-changing downtown. I’m 65 now, and I’ve tried to keep some of what I loved about old Manhattan Beach here. We’ve seen the rent skyrocket over the last ten years, but people keep coming in masses, at new volumes, and we manage to pay the rent. There’s not much left over for the owner, but that’s okay.”
As for winning best sports bar, even the loquacious Beverly was left somewhat speechless. But one look out that window to the west shows a little bit of what voters were thinking — you don’t have to look at a bank of television sets to see sports, just look to the beach. And it’s a place where you just might run into a professional athlete, as Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban famously did when he bumped into former Clipper star Blake Griffin at the Shellback when he was in the process of trying to steal teammate DeAndre Jordan from LA. Who needs a TV?
Shellback Tavern
126 Manhattan Beach Blvd., Manhattan Beach
(310) 376-7857
shellbacktavern.com
Runner-up: Grunions Sports Bar & Grill
1501 N. Sepulveda Blvd., Manhattan Beach
(310) 545-9910
grunionssportsbarandgrill.com