The interior of The Old Pro in May 2019. New ownership plans to revamp the sports bar.
One of Palo Alto’s most famous sports bars will soon be resurrected. The Old Pro, at 541 Ramona St., shuttered last June; the owner at the time, Steve Sincheck, cited a decline in business and a rise in costs as the reasons for the closure. Palo Alto restaurateur Guillaume Bienaime recently took over the building lease and intends to “reinvigorate” The Old Pro, according to the Palo Alto Daily Post.
Bienaime, a local chef and restaurant owner, says he was immediately attracted to the idea of taking over the sports bar. As a Philadelphia Eagles fan, he has spent numerous Sundays at The Old Pro among the frenzy of football fans.
“As soon as I saw it in the papers, I called the landlord,” he told SFGATE via email.
Bienaime intends to keep The Old Pro a sports bar, but if the menus and decor at his current establishments, Zola and BarZola, are any indication, it could be in for a major revamp. According to Palo Alto Online, the new iteration of the space will be more food-focused — steaks, specifically. And while he plans to stay as true to a sports bar as possible (i.e., by selling lots of beer), Bienaime said the new beverage program will include more cocktails and better wine.
“We’ll put some effort into our wine program [too], focusing mostly on West Coast wines,” he said. “There’s simply no reason that wine should be an afterthought.”
The Old Pro has a winding history that dates back to 1964, when it was originally on El Camino Real, near Page Mill Road. In 1994, Steve Sincheck purchased the bar and operated two Old Pros, one at the original location and the other in downtown Palo Alto, which he opened around 2004.
In 2007, the first location closed for good, but the new Old Pro remained a popular Palo Alto sports bar until last year. The downtown location was known for beer towers, old-school sports memorabilia on display and a mechanical bull named Bucky. It was one of the few places that would party past midnight near the Stanford campus. Bucky won’t be found in the bar’s new incarnation, however; Bienaime plans to trade it out for a wine cellar.
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Nico Madrigal-Yankowski is a food reporter for SFGATE. He is a born and bred San Franciscan. Email him tips at nico.madrigal-yankowski@sfgate.com