What a shame, our beloved brewpub, Brewery Draconum, announced its closing end of September. I remember being excited about their opening, almost 10 years ago. They had a solid food menu, and a great beer selection, including my favorite, the saison, but also the stouts, the ales, and what a joy it was to go sit in their backyard, especially at night under the Costco light strings, while our grandkids would play cornhole, often inviting me, knowing that another win was in sight.
I know I’m biased. Born in Belgium, I’m a beer enthusiast, an occasional home brewer, like Ben, one of the founders. Still, places like the Draconum is what our town needs more of, I mean part of a scene full of little restaurants and quaint little shops. No big-brand shops, no chain restaurants.
Draconum’s closure comes right after the tragic fire that burned up the Newhall Refinery, another gastropub, the Main Theatre and the Care Tucker Style House, a local boutique and clothing store. I vaguely remember our city fathers 10-plus years ago making noise about the great designs they had (still have?) for our Main Street. It’s where Santa Claritans would go out to be entertained. It reminded me of what’s now called Old Pasadena, where my wife and I and our friends would go out while we lived in Altadena, many moons ago.
But Main Street Newhall never got that far, not even close. As we walk on Main Street today we must feast our eyes on a paint store, a pawn shop, a coin laundry, a church — all very worthy merchants or causes, but they do not mix well with what presumably is the main entertainment ambition of our Main Street, do they?
Old Pasadena calls itself a historic shopping and entertainment center. It didn’t get there organically. Old Pasadena used to be a sad collection of half-empty, forlorn-looking buildings that accommodated mainly homelessness and drug addiction. That city drew up a masterplan, attracted developers and then began its implementation. They went straight to confronting the owners of the dilapidated buildings with the city’s masterplan. No waiting for leases of the undesirables to expire. If you couldn’t agree, they called “eminent domain” on your property. Right away Old Pasadena became a smashing success.
Come on, city fathers, do something, please!
Patrick Daems
Stevenson Ranch
