OFF THE BEATEN TRACK
Virgil ’ s Bait Shop in Suisun City Offers Fresh Bait , Cold Beer
Popular fisherman ' s hangout has been around nearly 80 years
STORY AND PHOTOS BY Steve Martarano
Virgil ’ s is known for its wide variety of frozen and live bait . Eric Butcher holds a tray of pile worms he got from Big Red Worm in Sacramento .
Brothers Eric and Rick Butcher have owned Virgil ’ s Bait Shop and Ice House a little more than three years , but it has been a big part of their lives since they were kids .
For proof , look no further than the penny piece of gum stuck under the end of Virgil ’ s bar by a very young Eric Butcher .
“ I put that gum there probably when I was 7 or 8 years old ,” Butcher , 60 , says during a recent visit , reaching up under the wood to make his point and even remembering the brand . “ It was Bazooka .”
Virgil ’ s , which Butcher calls one of the oldest continuously running businesses in Suisun City , has existed , in one form or another , on the northernmost stretch of Suisun City ’ s Main Street near the Fairfield-Suisun transit station for about 80 years . It ’ s always
28 comstocksmag . com | January 2022