Barney's Rumbles

Blog Smythe's World reports that longtime West Hollywood dive Barney's Beanery has opened a second location on Santa Monica's 3rd Street Promenade.

I don't know why, but I find this odd. Barney's Beanery is what it is mostly through its 84-year history (both good -- as a historic rock and roll hangout, where Hendrix hung out and Janis Joplin supposedly had her last drink -- and bad -- as an anti-gay haven in West Hollywood, where a "No Fags" sign once stood) and atmosphere. It would be like Musso and Frank's suddenly opening a second location in the Grove. You go to Barney's, as well as Musso and Frank's, for the grimy ambiance as much as anything (it sure ain't for the food, no matter what they say about having the "second best chili in town"!).

But a Barney's Beanery in the sunny, corporate enclave of the Third Street Promenade?

Meanwhile, found out some interesting tidbits from the bar's official website: The original hood over the stove that was used at Barney's over 80 years ago can still be seen in the restaurant. Known as the third oldest restaurant in the city of Los Angeles, the name Barney's Beanery was derived from the era of the depression when the restaurant used to serve beans on Route 66.