The Caravan Lounge has poured strong drinks on South Almaden Avenue in downtown San Jose for at least 45 years, but ever since current property owners Jan Chargin and Lynn M. Bohnen asked the Redevelopment Agency in 2007 to buy the building, rumors have run rampant about what would finally happen to the classic dive bar. The San Jose City Council was scheduled to vote today on whether the RDA should fork over $1,120,000 for the property, plus an extra $187,000 in “relocation” costs to current Caravan operator, George Rich.
However, the meeting adjourned 15 minutes ago with no mention of the Caravan. (Curiously, the Redevelopment Agency agenda for Aug. 25 seems to have been mysteriously amended sometime over the weekend, with the RDA recommending that its original plan to buy the building be dropped.)
Last Sunday, the Merc’s Internal Affairs team of Denis Theriault and John Woolfolk attempted some snarky commentary on the situation, referring to the place as, “dingy, punky, (puky?),” and lamenting the news for “fans of head-splitting music and watered-down White Russians.” That last zinger irked every Caravan employee, since the place prides itself on pouring honest drinks.
None of the Caravan staff seemed to be the least bit concerned about the pending sale and subsequent demolition of the place. Instead, tempers exploded and feelings were hurt over the Merc’s reportage from the White Russian front. Bartenders and barflies alike scribbled down letters and fired them off to the paper, demanding apologies and retractions over the comment.
As an infrequent patron, I’m offended by the “head-splitting music” comment.
Great to hear. Downtown may need an injection but it doesn’t need a blank slate. I was just a kid when the last great era or downtown was wiped clean by failed gentrification (which I’ve only read about) and I lament it happening again. Expand, don’t contract. Diversify, don’t homogenize. We live in a fairly civilized place in which many different venues can coexist, or at least I hope so.
I’m not a patron of the Caravan, but it does add a bit of color to our bland downtown.
Do we really need another parking lot just there just now? There seems to be some kind of program to return downtown to the “unending desert of parking lots” look it had in the Eighties. The dancing pigs sausage company, the Westinghouse building, and now the Caravan.
People may remember that that block at one time contained a successful theater that was forced to move out.
As a semi-frequent patron (as best as I recall), I believe Caravan patrons are not interested in being easily offended. The drinks are too strong for this. Besides, who gives an F what the lonely dregs left at the SMerc think about anything?