It’s like a show, and we’re the characters. And you never know what you’re going to get from one night to the next. (Hayne Palmour IV / San Diego Union-Tribune)įor Bankers Hill resident and Wednesday regular James Stephens, 60, The Caliph is special - a bar like no other: “It’s like a 1960s bar without the smoke. Even during the hardest times, when the economy wasn’t doing so well, we remained open and persevered.”īefore leaving, Geoff Buen, left, and Brett Granfield take a photo in front of the Caliph piano bar. “At the same time, I realize that it did have a long run - 58 years. “There’s no doubt that it saddens me,” said Mendoza, who bought the intimate Bankers Hill bar in 2003. The Caliph, with its Moorish motif mixed in with disco lights, is known for its live piano entertainment, karaoke, fresh popcorn and, perhaps most importantly, its old-school neighborhood bar vibe.
After last call, it will shut its doors permanently - ending a historic, nearly 60-year run as one of San Diego’s most iconic gay bars. 31, as the calendar ushers in a new year, it will usher in a new chapter for Mendoza but usher out the last chapter for The Caliph. Just before midnight on New Year’s Eve, as the clock’s about to strike 12, Sherman Mendoza will steel himself to do something one last time: toast the new year with friends at The Caliph, the piano lounge and bar he’s owned for 15 years.
