After getting ousted from its longtime Rockridge home, Barclay’s Pub has now found itself on the right side of a rent dispute.
The original Barclay’s Pub, which operated at 5940 College Ave. for close to 25 years, closed last July after its landlord decided to replace the pub with a new tenant. (That new tenant turned out to be The Golden Squirrel, which opened in November.)
The pub’s closure was met with some dismay and frustration from fans of Barclay’s, who came out en masse to the bar’s Facebook page with memories and words of encouragement.
One wrote: “Saying goodbye to my favorite bar as they are getting evicted tomorrow after 3 decades in this space. I’ve been coming here for almost 20 years now! It was one of the first places I went when I finally turned 21, I fell in love playing darts and drinking beers there, washed away my sorrows there with many great beers over the years, and when I was playing gigs in Oakland it was where we went for every after-party! Thanks Barclay’s Restaurant and Pub for running a truly great bar.”
Others suggested new locations for the bar along College Avenue — both the former Toast and Pasta Pomodoro restaurants were brought up. But, as it turned out, Berkeley will be the new home for the bar.
Barclay’s is now set to move into the former Pathos space at 2430 Shattuck Ave. It has posted a sign on the outside of the restaurant that announces its arrival. Barclay’s is currently hiring, but it doesn’t appear that any work has been done yet to transform the interior.
The story of Pathos’s closing is much the same as Barclay’s: As co-owner Nick Eftimiou told Nosh when the restaurant closed in October, “our landlord … decided to ask us to move [in order to] seek another tenant.” The family-owned Greek restaurant opened in November 2013, serving high-end organic Mediterranean fare.
This stretch of Shattuck has recently been seeing a surge in building activity. Large apartment complexes are opening at Dwight and Shattuck, as well as at Parker and Shattuck. Cornerstone, a beer bar and venue space, just opened last week. And Gio’s Pizza and Bocce is still, slowly, making progress towards opening.
Joel DiGiorgio, of Farm League Design and Management, and who is helping to open Gio’s, was happy to hear about Barclay’s opening right next door to Gio’s. “Great addition,” he said.
We have reached out to the Barclay’s team for more information, and we will update you as we learn more.
