Old Fresno Hofbrau
From Changeling Venue
The evening light casts a dim glow to the ancient cracked blacktop; a soft blue light at the edge of the sky behind you, as the first stars twinkle into being above. The flickering pinpricks in the dark blue seem so cold and distant, despite the hot evening trailing at the end of a long Fresno summer. The Brick building before you is old, you can tell. What was once bright red has faded to a reddish brown, and faded further almost to black in the evening light. Above you the old neon sign crackles to life as if sensing your approach, bathing the parking lot in a soft yellow glow, and filling your ears with the buzz of old wiring. You approach the building and you see the cracks in the pavement, the ancient asphalt giving birth to flowering weeds, a few beaten up cars parked on its surface. In time you can make out the old yellowed letters painted gaily on the red brick, somehow cheerful despite its setting.
You can almost feel a power here as you begin to step between the iron pillars decorating the entrance, each topped with a round glass lamp, flickering infrequently. You pause to breath deep of the dusty air as you stand on the precipice between the inside and the outside. This place is secret somehow; you just know it. Within its decay is some kind of joyous truth. You turn back to the parking lot, almost afraid to enter now and you see it has somehow transformed subtly. You see it as it should be seen, the flowers springing to life through the rock, their color bright and vibrant despite the baking heat. You look at that same old neon sign, and you see a beacon among these dark streets, shining and calling to the lost and afraid. You turn back to the doorway. The ancient dark wood is the final barrier, its handle a dark copper, polished to a dull sheen from 4 generations of human hands. You grip it with unsteady fingers, feeling its warm metal solidity, and your thumb presses the release button.
As you pull the door open the world seems to change before you, sound and light flood out to engulf you. Not the bright white light of some divine encounter, no, this is the warm yellow light of hearth and home. The wash of sounds takes a moment to be truly heard, but you start to smile as you begin to understand. The scratchy music of an old record player jukebox, mixed with joyful off key singing, shouts of merriment, the crack of pool balls against one another on green felt, but above all: laughter. It is the true laughter of people who are, for perhaps the first time in a long time, content. The smells are just as mixed, roasted meats, the sweat of a hard days work, and somewhere improbably, the smell of fresh cut flowers wafts to you from the depths.
Now you know the secret. In a world so dark it is not the bad things of the world that must hide themselves away, it is the true happiness, the places where for a time at least you can again feel free of ties that bind, of misery and pain, and just…laugh. This place is magic, in perhaps the truest sense of the world, and while you stay, you are home.
Welcome Home.
Contents |
A Happy Kind of Rabbit Hole
The Old Fresno Hofbrau is a Fresno icon. It has been open and serving hungry and thirsty working stiffs since 1923, according to the stained glass window. Now under the secret ownership of the ogre Finly Cole, it has become a sanctuary for the Lost of Fresno, as well as a popular nightspot for the locals who remember it exists. If you need help in Fresno, the Hofbrau is almost as good as the freehold itself.
Location
Located in overly sunny Fresno, Ca.
Theme
The Old Fresno Hofbrau is a traditional German drinking house, including a fully stocked deli bar all through the night. An old TV is perched above the bar, but rarely does it see much use, even during sports seasons. Its patronage doesn’t come time and again to sit and listen to news of the outside; they tend to prefer that the outside world melt away, at least for a little while.
The place is old, founded in 1923 almost all the furnishings are maintained and restored originals, most of it in dark woods, and brass, the walls are paneled in wood to about waist level, and then covered in dusky red wallpaper.
The center of entertainment (aside from the owner himself) is the ancient Jukebox, singing its scratchy classic rock deep into each and every night, usually accompanied by a choir of drunken voices.
Fare
The bar is a matter of pride for Finly, offering beers from all over the world, his beer menu having almost a hundred and fifty choices, with ten different beers on tap alone. He also offers a decent selection of wines, though his clientele rarely partake, and of course all the classics of hard liquor.
The hot food is nearly gourmet, providing steaming cuts of roast turkey, pastrami, corned beef, roast beef, and ham, all cut up fresh by the all-night food staff, and served up on moist breads baked right in their own kitchen. For sides there is fresh made pasta and potato salad, as well as a green salad bar, or for the hungry man, a steaming hot baked potato. And as a finisher, for dessert there are several kinds of seasonal pies, all fresh baked daily, and available alamode.
Hours
The Hofbrau opens its doors for its lunch crowd at 11am every day, serving up fresh hot meats and ice-cold beers until 4pm, when it closes for an hour to clean up and prepare for the night crowds.
It remains open from five until –officially- 2:00am when state law prohibits the sale of alcohol. But on some rare nights when the mood strikes him, he flips the locks on the doors, and passes out a few –free- rounds to the cheers of his regulars.
The Hofbrau is open every day of the year, except for Easter, Thanksgiving, and Christmas, or on the occasional day where Finly simply doesn’t unlock the door.
Regulars
If you think you have been here enough times to call yourslef that, feel free to add your name, sit down, and enjoy a cold one.
- Finly Cole - Owner and the most regular of regulars
- Nycto Feraz - Nycto would never call himself a regular, but Finly would. When he is at the bar, he sits in the back, and keeps to himself, usally sipping on wine. Once a year, near Halloween, Cole invites him into the bar to tell scary stories...
Afiliations
In addition to being an icon for the Lost of fresno, the Hofbrau is also a part of The Innkeepers Guild, providing aide to those Lost forced to wandering ways. Services provided include housing, food, and some supplies to sustain them on thier journeys ahead.
