Colorful Bar in Historic Locke Stays the Course After an Ownership Change
Al the Wop ’ s has been serving bikers , locals and tourists for 75 years
STORY AND PHOTOS BY Steve Martarano
Lunch hour at Al ' s Place . The 75-year-old bar is on the National Registry of Historic Places .
The purchase of a 75-year-old bar and restaurant in the Locke Historic District in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta , coming in the middle of a pandemic , posed major risks for its new owners . Almost two years later , however , the investment seems to be paying off .
Al the Wop ’ s Place , also known as Al ’ s Place , is located in the mostly vacant yet charming community ( population today around 100 ) first developed in the late 1800s and later settled by Chinese immigrants . Originally known as Lockeport , the tiny 10-acre Locke is about a mile north of Walnut Grove just off River Road Route 160 , 30 miles south of Sacramento .
Al ’ s five new owners , who live in Sacramento and the Bay Area and share a common interest in motorcycles , vintage cars and boats , bought the business and property in December 2020 from previous owner Judie Wall . Wall ran it with her husband Bubba beginning in the early 2010s and had been sole owner since his death in 2015 .
“ We all had this idea of , wouldn ’ t it be cool to own a bar or open a brewery at some point ?” says Eric Heath , one of the new owners . “ And when we saw Al ’ s come up ( for sale ) we thought this might be a good opportunity .”
32 comstocksmag . com | June 2022