Glenn Wallace/Staff Writer | Posted: Tuesday, February 12, 2008 12:00 am
Two weeks ago the Red Fox II, at 143 N. H St. in Lompoc, changed its name to The Wicked Shamrock, Irish Surf Pub.
Irish Surf Pub?
BIt/s kind of a combination,C part owner Dominic Keen explained during an interview last week.
BIt/s the laid-back kind of atmosphere from a surf bar, with the feel of generosity you get in a pub,C he elaborated.
Turns out there is a correlation between surfing and the Irish. The Irish Surf Association claims 5,000 members, and numerous surfing publications have lauded the uncrowded, albeit chilly, surf spots of the Emerald Isle.
Keen, who bought into the bar last summer to become a part owner with Ben Harper, embodies the seemingly distant themes of his establishment. Part Irish himself, Keen does his bartending in a Surf Connection hat and an O/Neill T-shirt. Bartending helped put him through college, and gave him an appreciation for the aesthetics of a good bar.
When he/s not slinging drinks, Keen teaches elementary school, most recently fifth grade at Clarence Ruth.
The owners began the name change and renovations to the Red Fox shortly after New Years, promising a cosmetic overhaul of the bar.
For one thing, the front door is now green instead of deep red.
The interior is getting new paint as well, with false walls being removed and new flooring being put in, to move away from the dance club atmosphere of the Red Fox.
BWe/re making it the kind of bar I/ve always wanted, a place where good people can come and relax after work,C Keen said.
With the name change, and changes to the interior, Keen and Harper hope to shift the bar/s customer base.
BA lot of the things the Red Fox ended up being I really didn/t want to be involved with,C Keen said, acknowledging the Lompoc Police Department/s occasional visits.
Keen said he had already seen the clientele of the bar begin to change with the new name.
BIt/s still pretty much a young person/s bar, but I/ve had some people come in here that haven/t been here since it was the old LPL,C Keen said, referring to the bar/s moniker before it became the Red Fox.
The site/s pool tables remain, but a sign promises a new digital juke box in the future, and the big screen TV shows surfing videos when sports are not on. The wall decorations are new, and the focus is on the twin themes of beer and surf.
Besides the addition of more beers on tap, and a wider selection of Irish whiskey, not much behind the bar will change, he said.
Keen said the bartending staff will remain constant.
BEveryone/s still here 77 we have a great crew of people,C he said.
The renovation work continues, but Keen said curiosity and thirst had helped the bar/s numbers stay high so far.
The Lost Kings Tattoo shop hosts a regular party at the bar. Other special events are planned for major sporting events, the and, of course, St. Patrick/s Day March 17.
Glenn Wallace can be reached at
737-1059 or gwallace@lompocrecord.com
February 12, 2008