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Sometime this month Lance White of San Jose will take over as the new owner of the British Bankers Club, at the corner of El Camino Real and Santa Cruz Avenue in Menlo Park.
Mr. White, who has 25 years of experience as a restaurateur and catering company owner in San Jose, vows to restore the popular hangout to its original glory. Along with spiffing up the interior and the outdoor dining area, he is planning to hire a new executive chef and upgrade the food.
“I want to make it a place where people come for a nice dinner and to listen to a little jazz,” he says. There will also be jazz at Sunday brunch.
Mr. White, who grew up in San Jose, says he had never visited the BBC until he was looking to buy it, but all his Redwood City relatives were familiar with the place. “Even my mom used to go there,” he says.
The BBC has been Menlo Park’s upscale version of “Cheers” since 1973. The original owner, Dennis Grimsman of Atherton, created the atmosphere of a private London club in the classic brick bank building that dates back to 1922. At one time the building housed Menlo Park’s city hall, police department and jail.
Its interior includes a mahogany back bar, authentic Tiffany stained glass windows, and many original Tiffany lamps. Its largest chandelier was originally ensconced in the Philadelphia Opera House.
For the past eight years, the British Bankers Club has been named best bar and music venue by The Almanac’s Readers Choice Awards.
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Back in the 80s the British Bankers Club was the best bar on the Peninsula….just ask Eddy DeBartola. It’d be great if the BBC could be returned to it’s former glory. First on the agenda…get rid of karaoke night.
Eddy D was framed…but that’s another story. I miss the British Bankers Club of the 1980s. Hope the new owner can restore it. I’d love to relive some of my BBC Friday happy hour experiences. However, I’m not sure of the direction this new owner is going. The “old” BBC was not a place to go for “a nice dinner and a little jazz”. It was a place you went to for a drink (or two or three) and to meet old and new friends. “A little jazz”…give me a break.
Don’t knock kareoke night – as least one night a week is good fun. I’ve been going to the BBC forever, I love it, I just hope they do something about the stench!