Mexicali West is up for sale, Fatburger opens its first local franchise and anchor Erin Briscoe and reporter Danny Freemen leave their TV stations

Friday, August 3, 2018

 Welcome to Bakersfield Observed. Our mission is to celebrate life in Kern County by focusing on newsmakers and events and the local characters who make this such a special place. Email your news and notes to rsbeene@yahoo.com. 

 * ... NEWS AND NOTES: There are lots of news and notes around town involving local restaurants

opening and closing, and local TV anchors leaving the business or moving to another market. Let's get it started ... 

 * ... MUERTOS: Did you know that the restaurant Muertos downtown is housed in a space that once housed the horses for the city fire department? The old space, lovingly restored over the years, has long been a favorite spot for eateries. Before Muertos, it was the home of the Horse's Tail in the 1970s and later morphed into the Happy Buzzard, Suds and Azul's.

 * ... FAT BURGER: And speaking of dining, the Southern California burger chain Fatburger is coming to Bakersfield. A sign announcing the new burger joint went up at a space at Oswell and Bernard streets, saying it will be open sometime this year.

 * ... SPOTTED ON TWITTER: "When my husband annoys me I like to say, “The doctor said I need to lose 10 pounds. What do you think?”

 * ... MOVING UP: Danny Freeman, one of KGET TV's aggressive young reporters, is leaving town for another job in San Diego. Freeman was one of the lead reporters on the story of the potential conflict of interest involving Supervisor Leticia Perez and her husband's cannabis consulting business. Meanwhile, long-time KBAK anchor Erin Briscoe has also left the business but will apparently stay in town.

 * ... LOCAL RETAIL CHANGES: I was told by an employee at Floyd's that the venerable hardware store has been sold to a local plumbing company. Apparently owner Jan Meyer decided to leave the business and found a local buyer. Meanwhile, I have also been told that Mexicali West is now for sale (asking price is $3.85 million), leaving the original Mexicali on 18th Street the only venue for the restaurant's legions of fans.

 * ... SINALOA: The folks that own the venerable Sinaloa Mexican restaurant downtown have also put that business up for sale at an asking price of $1.9 million. Mike and Annie Munoz opened the original Sinaloa in the spot that now houses Woolgrower's, and moved to its present location on 20th Street in 1957. Prior to housing Sinaloa, the two story building houses a children's homeless shelter, Susie's Cafe and two Italian restaurants.

 * ... FOOTWEAR: Did you check out the footwear that House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy was wearing before an appearance on the Laura Ingraham show?

 * ... MEMORIES: And finally enjoy this old photo of three Harley riders in front of the old clock tower on Chester.

District attorney looking into a conflict of interest on the Board of Supervisors, a classic Craftsman comes up for sale downtown and a new Greek eatery gets some love...

 * ... CANNABIS: It appears the Kern County District Attorney's office is looking into the controversy involving Supervisors Letitia Perez and Mike Maggard in the ongoing debate over

marijuana. Specifically, KGET's Danny Freeman reported that the DA public integrity unit was looking into allegations that Perez had a conflict of interest when she voted to regulate marijuana in the unincorporated areas of the county. Fernando Jara, Perez's husband, is alleged to have been deeply involved in the cannabis fight therefore creating a conflict for his wife. Stay tuned because all this is just heating up.

 * ... SPOTTED ON TWITTER: "The problem with drinking with people from work is they’re the ones I bitch about when I’m drunk."

 * ... CRAFTSMAN: One of my favorite homes in Bakersfield, a beautifully restored Craftsman on 19th Street downtown, has come up for sale. Easily one of the most recognizable homes in the downtown area, the home has 2,637 square feet of living space, four bedrooms and two baths, a detached garage and a classic wrap around porch. The price: $625,000.

 * ... DARLINGSIDE: Don't miss the Boston-based group Darlingside when they appear at the Bakersfield Music Hall of Fame on Wednesday, March 7. Sponsored by Passing through Productions, tickets are available on eventbrite.com for just $20 each. Consider this excerpt from a recent review of the group: "Boston quartet Darlingside manage exactly that on their new album, Extralife, a sumptuous set of harmony-heavy songs that, like an impressionist painting, conjures the feeling and texture of end times while leaving plenty of space for the listener to decide just what such an event would actually look like. The follow-up to their acclaimed 2016 album, Whippoorwill, finds Darlingside eschewing the Americana-leaning folk-rock of their earlier work to explore experimental, complex chamber pop, all while spinning sparkling yarns of underground bunkers and nuclear fallout."

 * ... SULTAN'S: Have you tried Sultan's Mediterrean Grill out off Allen Road? A friend swears it is the hottest new eatery in town, featuring fresh Greek entrees at affordable prices. The restaurant is located on the corner of Allen and Brimhall roads.

 * ... FATHER CRAIG: Monsignor Craig Harrison may be one of the most joyful, hopeful and spiritual person I know. But even a man of the cloth has his limits. What bugs him most? Negativity, divisiveness and personal attacks. "That's the main reason I defriend people on Facebook," he told me this week. "I use Facebook to uplift me, not to make me angry." And the other reason he defriends on Facebook? "People who post every meal they eat." Sounds about right, Father Craig.

 * ... OLD BANK: I found this photo of the old Anglo-California bank, located at 18th and Chester, on the Kern County of Old Facebook page. The building now houses the Chain Cohn Stiles law firm.