www.CostaRicaTicas.com

Okay, I got a private msg regarding this and I thought I might as well share what I know with CRT boys.

1. Joe B's is closed forever.
2. The Zone, next to Papi's, is also closed forever, though this is 2nd hand info for now.
3. Papi's is closed for about a month. I called there and that's what some guy told me, I'm not sure who he was except he's a gringo.

I predict Larry at the Poas will be doing quite a bit of business for a while. My predictions are not inerrant, however.

By the way, Thursday I'm giving away another eBook. Search Amazon for "Thomas Ray O'Brien" and you should find it. It's the FREE one! I won't be heartbroken if you buy one of the others, by the way. Might make the difference between Relax and Calle 6.

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"The only normal people are those you don't know very well." Joe Ancis

Thanks, Bilko for the info. Sad days when Bobby died and Joe B's closed. Glad to hear Xinia will hopefully keep Papi's going. With the New York Bar having closed a couple of years ago, the options for gringo bars are dwindling. Chubbs is OK, has good food, but little to none free-range chicas and it tends to get too loud in there for conversation, and let's face it, a large part of having a good gringo bar is to be able to drink and bullshit freely.
I missed your free book downloads, but plan on buying one.

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" Omit no happy hour that may give furtherance to our expedition."

At this point, I consider Chubbs a Tico bar. Many more Ticos than Gringos.

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"In a nation ruled by swine, all pigs are upwardly mobile, and the rest of us are phucked until we can put our acts together; not necessarily to win, but mainly to keep from losing completely"...Hunter S. Thompson (RIP)

Some speculative info... the gringo I talked to at Papi's was probably Bobby's nephew. Bobby was a bit of a pack rat and left a lot of stuff to go through, not even counting the bar. I do hope it reopens soon, but I don't get a vote.

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"The only normal people are those you don't know very well." Joe Ancis

"let the chinos and nicas buttfuckem for a few months till the marines boot their asses to the curb.. "

I apologize in advance if this post is comprehensible, but I have a few more rumors/facts (not sure which) to pass on. What I heard was that the nephew was left the bar and plans to clean house (so to speak) and reopen it, and (this is the good part) RUN IT FROM THE USA.

If he can pull that one off, he deserves all the credit in the world. Stop laughing. Really... I mean it...

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"The only normal people are those you don't know very well." Joe Ancis

Thanks again for passing on the rumors. We won't hold you to them if they don't pan out. It scares me too that the nephew is going to try to run it from the states. I like Xinia, but not sure if she can, or wants to for that matter, take on the endless headaches of running a bar in Costa Rica. I would hate to see another good bar bite the dust. Any rumors of someone re-opening Joe B's? I am still bummed out about it closing. I liked all of the sh*t on the walls when Marta and Michael ran it. (Also, Larry is a good guy, but without the pictures of all of the old gringos in Bar Poas it loses some character that it had when Harry owned it).

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" Omit no happy hour that may give furtherance to our expedition."

I have heard yet another rumor regarding Joe B's. The rumor WAS that the landlord had a tenant all lined up and that's why he didn't renew Joe B's lease, but supposedly (note the hedge) that tenant backed out and the lease and the license are on the market. I heard a number floated of like 1200 a month rent, not sure about the license but the current rumor is that it COULD be reopened, though I didn't hear that Joe B was in the mix. I think the landlord may not want to rent to him again for (another rumor) the reason that Joe B didn't pay rent after he found out his lease wasn't going to be renewed. Just rumor, but it's all I have.

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"The only normal people are those you don't know very well." Joe Ancis

The "golden Age" of the gringo bar followed the retirement migration of older gringos, mostly from the USA <note I said USA - not "Americans">

(I don't want to use the term "Americans" b/c then I piss off my friend Bang Bang, for not making clear I'm referring to people from the USA when I say Americans, vs confusing folks that I really mean Peruvians or Argentines - even though to whom I'm referring when I say "Americans" is aparant as dog shit on a dinner plate.......... )

Anyway, that out of the way and clarified , Gringo bars serve(ed) a defined cliental (for the literal, no, not exclusively)and frankly that cliental has decreased in recent years - sure, 20 - 25 years ago - when guys like the late Irish Drifter, and my friend Bang Bang settled in Costa Rica, there was more of a need than today, with fewer retiring here (its not the cheap place it once was......)

I mention BB and ID - but what is interesting is the one thing the retiring N. Americans had in common was they tended to be heavy drinkers (NOT the case with BB, and I don't think the case with ID - so there are exceptions to every rule) and since they did not do much to integrate themselves into life in Costa Rica, they wanted places like the neighborhood bar they left in say, Cleveland.

Depending on your perspective - I drink very little, so it has no effect on me - some will mourn their passing, but what kept them in business was a steady stream of - lets be kind - heavy drinkers, with little to occupy their time other than going to a bar - and with fewer retiring to CR and fewer to San Jose - I think the trend will continue.

Technically, Ticos are North Americans.

Scuba wrote..(I don't want to use the term "Americans" b/c then I piss off my friend Bang Bang, for not making clear I'm referring to people from the USA when I say Americans, vs confusing folks that I really mean Peruvians or Argentines - even though to whom I'm referring when I say "Americans" is aparant as dog shit on a dinner plate.......... )

No, Tico's are Central Americans

North Americans live in Canada, the USA, or Mexico - sorry, my geographically challenged friend

Not to totally disagree with Scuba1, but the two latest gringo bar closings had nothing to do with lack of business. It is probably the case that there are fewer resident gringos of the type he describes, but the two latest closures were due to a death and a lost lease. Going back to the NY bar, that one closed at least in part to the decline in business, but certainly mismanagement and a horrible lease were contributing factors.

MORE GOSSIP! The Baja Beach club is (supposedly) for sale. Rumor has it their lease is running out and the owner wants out. Renewing the lease could be done, but apparently the owner wants to try to sell it with maybe a year left on the old lease. Rent will go up, naturally.

Anybody interested in reopening Joe B's or buying the Baja can msg me and I can put you in touch with somebody who will open negotiations. I would never want to own a bar myself, but obviously some folks do.

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"The only normal people are those you don't know very well." Joe Ancis

The North American continent extend from up north to Panama. The is no Central American continent. Check it out Scuba

Some authorities consider WiseAsh to be right about the North American continent.

Some geographers will say that the western hemisphere land mass is comprised of two continents - - - North America and South America - - - and several small islands. Those authorities will say that the isthmus that includes Costa Rica is merely a region of North America.

I'm not an authority, but I'll go with WiseAsh rather than Scuba. WiseAsh has better cigars.

Whats the story on Papi's place being closed? I got to know Papi who was leasing/running the place from my last trip.

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GO Winnipeg JETS!