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San Pedro continues to see some massive upgrades, as the waterfront neighborhood wedged between Long Beach and Palos Verdes gets an influx of new money, retail, and restaurant tenants. One beneficiary of all that movement? The former Papadakis Taverna on Sixth Street, which had closed despite forty years in business.
The San Gabriel Valley Tribune has news on the second coming of the former Taverna space, which shuttered in 2010 after a few years of uncertainty. For a long time however, the restaurant had been a South Bay mainstay, drawing in locals and commuters from Long Beach and Los Angeles proper for colorful nights inside the friendly restaurant.
Now newcomers Greg and Yunnie Morena are hoping to bring back some of that vitality, after purchasing the 5,000 square foot restaurant for a cool $1.6 million in 2015. The plan, says Mr. Morena, is to transform Papadakis Taverna into Pappy’s, a more casual environment for craft beer and seafood. The couple already own The Albright on the Santa Monica Pier.
Apparently the turnover of the location has revealed some pretty incredible stuff. The building itself dates to the 1920’s, and there are endless details to be worked up from underneath the layers of dust and years of construction. Prior to Papadakis Taverna, the place was known as Tommy Good Fellow’s Yacht Club Cafe, and catered to a particular clientele (and even had a secret bordello upstairs). Before that, it was a post office.
As the SGV Tribune story points out, the renovation and reopening is ultimately great news for San Pedro, but nothing compared to the ongoing efforts to revitalize the waterfront. Newcomers like Brouwerij West are helping in that regard, but the real moment is still a few years off, when the San Pedro Public Market rolls out in 2020.
Expect Pappy’s to open much later this year, as the construction inside continues. Once the place arrives though, expect more than just oysters and po’ boys: the Morenas have plans to add live events, art nights, and more to the mix.
Pappy's
301 W. 6th St.
San Pedro, CA
