Jimbo's, Clovis

It’s been a long time since I’ve been to Jimbo’s. The last time was probably when I was 21 or 22.  Now, some 20 years later, it seems familiar, comforting, a throw-back, and is most certainly a roadhouse bar.

Instead of Patrick Swayze at the door, there’s “Ma” takin’ money for the cover charge. Ma carries a whistle around her neck. Why? So that you can be notified that last call is here or in case there are some 40 year old adolescents starting a fight; because, “no one wants to go to a slaughter house.”

Jimbo’s is a good place to play some pool, listen to some music, dance, or sit outside with friends. Sure the place is cooled by industrial and Gottschalks 80’s Box Fans (I’ll bet you they still have quartz heaters somewhere). There’s absolutely nothing special about this place and yet it’s all special. And don’t look at the ceiling, you might poke your eye out.

Huge positives at Jimbo’s; the bartenders are fast and the beer is cold and cheap. I haven’t had this type of rapid-fire service since Wiliker’s, Alligator Club, Black Angus, Fish Co., or Greenhouse in the late 80’s or early 90’s. Not only is the beer cold, I ordered 2 Corona’s and a Dos for less than I order most glasses of overpriced wine in town.

One other thing occurred to me as I sipped my beer, Jimbo’s for all its flaws and rough edges was still better than Springtini or Falltini or Summer Sizzle in a strip mall parking lot somewhere in a Fresno. Jimbo’s has character, it’s alive, and actually has atmosphere.

Fresno and Clovis Restaurants should take a page, the How to Run a Bar Page, out of the Jimbo’s Book. Find bartenders that hustle. Keep your beer cold. And price your drinks for movement, not what the distributor tells you to do to pay for your first bottle. And while it may sound like an oxymoron, Jimbo’s runs the Best Dive Bar in the Central Valley.