His impressive basement saloon was like 'Cheers' — until it burned in the Eaton fire

Before the January fires came, Brian Gardner had 300 Polaroids connected the partition of his basement saloon, the Hye West Saloon of Santa Poco. He had bottles of booze excessively — good implicit 1,000, to beryllium nonstop — but the Polaroids helium hung astir the perimeter of the 300-square-foot barroom nestled successful a retention country nether immoderate stairs astatine his Altadena location were much important to him.

Each snapshot featured a friend, captured connected their archetypal nighttime successful the bar, positive a nickname Gardner had bestowed upon them for usage successful the saloon. There was Jade Girl VO (for a judo move), Dog Fart (murky origins) and 1818 (to people a archetypal sojourn to the saloon connected Jan. 8, 2018). Gardner’s dada was Soda Pop, since helium was a teetotaler. Gardner’s kids, Lucca and Golden — simple schoolhouse students with a passionateness for ginger brew — were Whipper Snapper and Lil Deputy Doo-Doo Diaper, respectively.

Brian Gardner, wearing a ringing that says “Hye West Saloon,” holds a burned cocktail shaker. When helium visits his destroyed home, he’s been uncovering remnants of his basement watering hole, including tube hoops and barroom gear.

(Juliana Yamada / Los Angeles Times)

It was similar that astatine the Hye West. Named successful grant of Gardner’s wife’s Armenian practice and the movie “Three Amigos” — “Hye” being fundamentally the Armenian connection for “Armenian” and Santa Poco the fictional Mexican municipality wherever the ’80s drama was acceptable — the saloon was portion cozy clubhouse, portion whiskey tasting country and portion after-hours speakeasy. It wasn’t unfastened to the public, conscionable Gardner’s friends and acquaintances, who either knew to popular by oregon who’d been invited implicit astatine immoderate constituent during the week. But that didn’t mean it didn’t person buzz.

Confused strangers utilized to scope retired to Gardner aft seeing his barroom connected Instagram oregon TikTok, asking if the saloon was unfastened that weekend. He’d accidental no, that helium didn’t merchantability intoxicant and that it was conscionable a location bar. Still, that didn’t halt the Hye West from having a Yelp leafage astatine 1 point, adjacent though it wasn’t a concern astatine each and much spiritually akin to a backyard tiki lounge oregon immoderate grandpa’s rec-room hangout successful the ’70s.

“On 1 hand, it was wholly exclusive, due to the fact that you had to cognize idiosyncratic oregon cognize Brian to get in,” said Gregg Millward (saloon name: TNT), a Hye West regular. “On the different hand, it was conscionable a vicinity saloon. A watering hole, a spot to bask immoderate drinks with friends oregon neighbors oregon chap dads and to conscionable caller people. There was ne'er an agenda, and it was ever the astir amusive time. There was nary spot similar it.”

Inside Brian Gardner’s Hye West Saloon that became a gathering spot for friends and well-known connected societal media. The saloon felt similar “Cheers” and was 1 of the galore community-oriented spots mislaid successful the Eaton fire.

(Brian Gardner)

The Hye West was calved successful 2015 erstwhile Gardner’s household bought a three-bedroom Spanish-style location connected Altadena Drive. There were 2 unfinished, cinder-block basements beneath the house, and Gardner asked his wife, Karine, if helium could usage one. She said sure, past talented him a kegerator and a horseshoe brew pat for Father’s Day.

Though he’s a pharmaceutical salesman by trade, Gardner started gathering retired the saloon by himself astatine night. He says helium figured retired however to conception his 10-foot barroom mostly by watching YouTube videos. The space, which besides featured vintage saloon art, was tiny but cozy, comfortably holding astir 10 to 15 radical and boasting its ain bathroom, implicit with a urinal. Gardner adjacent tricked retired his 1973 Cadillac Eldorado to beryllium an hold of the saloon, with a “HYEWEST” vanity plate, longhorns implicit the beforehand and a fastener wrong that made the car moo, which his lad liked to press.

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1. Brian Gardner’s 1973 Cadillac Eldorado was an hold of his saloon. In summation to a “HYEWEST” vanity sheet and longhorns connected the front, determination was a fastener wrong that would marque the car moo. 2. What’s near of the 1973 Cadillac Eldorado. (Brian Gardner)

Initially, Gardner had a tiny postulation of mostly bourbon, positive the keg. His enactment expanded successful a astonishing way: After a run-in with a firestick works near him temporarily unsighted and successful excruciating pain, Gardner consulted an ophthalmologist who advised a people of attraction that fixed him close up. He took the doc retired to convey him, and implicit meal astatine Alexander’s Steakhouse successful Pasadena, Gardner learned that the ophthalmologist kept 2 whiskey lockers connected site, afloat of high-end hooch.

“I’d ne'er tasted thing truthful good,” Gardner said. “I ended up buying immoderate of the bottles I tasted that night, and it sparked my palate. I started chasing the flavors I liked, buying bottles of bourbon, past rye, past scotch and azygous malt. Then I got into tequila, and that led to mezcal. I similar to gag that the doc saved my imaginativeness but killed my liver.”

Brian Gardner invited visitors to the Hye West Saloon to driblet bottles of liquor into his “infinity barrel,” which held 53 gallons, and past food retired a tipple of the blend. He kept an inventory of the 260 bottles it held. “When it would get benignant of afloat oregon conscionable delicious, I’d propulsion retired respective bottles to save,” Gardner said.

(Brian Gardner)

At the Hye West, each tone had its ain wall. Gardner built the shelves that held the bottles, adding much each clip helium ran retired of space. He started making friends with different whiskey fans and dads astir town, inviting them implicit to person a portion and chat astir thing from limited-edition bottles to their relationships. Eventually, helium adjacent started his ain 53-gallon “infinity barrel,” mega-sizing the thought of the whiskey “infinity bottle,” which collectors marque by adding a spot of each caller dram they effort to an bare bottle, frankincense creating a caller and perpetually evolving blend.

Bob Burnell (saloon name: Jade Girl VO) archetypal visited the Hye West successful 2019. He said, “Brian ne'er asks you to bring anything, and he’s ne'er asked for money, but it benignant of became a customized astatine the Hye West that if you were going to spell and portion for free, past you would bring a vessel of bourbon to determination into the barrel, which I thought was perfect.” Gardner’s lone petition was that each vessel of bourbon beryllium unflavored and astatine slightest 100-proof. He kept way of each of the much than 270 bottles that went into the tube some successful a diary and connected a spreadsheet.

He often filmed radical pouring their bottles into the barrel, posting clips to his societal media of some the input and the consequent testing, done via a slug ammunition casing turned “dipping dog” attached to a sportfishing reel and dropped into the mix. When immoderate of the clips went viral, Gardner rapidly accrued much than 130,000 TikTok followers, galore of whom requested to either nonstop bottles for the tube oregon to person illicit samples of what was inside.

Brian Gardner holds a vessel of liquor from his “Infinity Barrel.”

(Juliana Yamada / Los Angeles Times)

Now, though, some Gardner’s saloon and location are gone, burned sometime successful the greeting connected Jan. 8 arsenic the Eaton occurrence swept done Altadena. Gardner and his household had evacuated to La Crescenta, packing up a fewer clothes, their passports and immoderate artwork by flashlight earlier locking up. (Gardner’s girl had a breached limb astatine the time, truthful she lone took 1 shoe.) Gardner didn’t deliberation to drawback thing from the saloon — they’d beryllium backmost to the location the adjacent day, helium told his kids — truthful present the lone happening helium has to retrieve it are his memories and the countless pictures and videos connected his phone.

The aftermath of the occurrence has been difficult. Gardner’s connected antianxiety drugs to assistance him function, and he’s started wearing a mouthguard astatine nighttime due to the fact that he’s been clenching his teeth successful his sleep. He hasn’t been capable to enactment retired similar helium utilized to, and portion he’s inactive effervescent and funny, helium makes the occasional acheronian jab astatine what helium lost, similar posting a representation of his location cardinal connected Instagram with the caption, “This is simply a first… I’ve recovered my keys but mislaid my house.”

“I deliberation that losing that tube was large for Brian,” said David Driscoll (saloon name: Double D), Gardner’s person and the erstwhile income and selling manager astatine Mission Wine & Spirits successful Pasadena. “Obviously, there’s the nonaccomplishment of his location and the nonaccomplishment of the full satellite he’d curated, and that’s huge, but helium had truthful galore radical contacting him due to the fact that of this infinity tube that he’d created that I deliberation it had go benignant of his lifeline retired into society. He loved interacting with each the radical who were excited to beryllium a portion of what helium was doing.”

Driscoll has offered to find him different tube truthful helium tin commencement caller successful the basement astatine his caller rental successful San Marino. Gardner is considering it but says helium mightiness clasp disconnected for a bit. He’s inactive mourning what helium lost, speedy to outcry erstwhile talking astir the Hye West adjacent arsenic strangers online nonstop bottles to assistance kick-start his postulation again. He’s posted videos connected TikTok of what he’s recovered successful the saloon’s ashes, which are afloat of shattered and melted glass. In one, helium woefully points retired the now-warped tube hoops earlier panning implicit to amusement the decimated dipping dog.

“I’ve hugged much men successful the past period than I ever had earlier successful my life, conscionable embracing them truthful tight,” Gardner said. “I’ve been telling radical I emotion them each day.”

Brian Gardner pulls a cart of burned glasses from the rubble.

(Juliana Yamada / Los Angeles Times)

He says he’ll yet rebuild some his location and his basement barroom — 1 patron sent him a climate-controlled retention locker wherever helium tin support inventory successful the meantime — and has thoughts astir however he’ll marque the Hye West some bigger and better. (He wants higher ceilings, for instance, and a somewhat smaller bar.) He’ll person assistance too, with Burnell noting that Gardner and his household had hosted truthful galore radical implicit the years who privation to springiness back: “If we each had the skills and tools, we could astir apt get his location rebuilt successful a mates of days.”

“The Hye West was conscionable the astir amusive spot to get together,” Gardner said. “It was similar ‘Cheers.’ It was the spot wherever everybody knew your name, wherever you weren’t bothered by different people, you could portion immoderate you wanted, sensation immoderate you wanted and perceive to immoderate you wanted.” Perhaps 1 day, it’ll beryllium each those things for Altadenans again.