3600 San Pablo Avenue
This corner at 36th & San Pablo Avenue has lived many lives over the past century: A bootlegging joint, a card room, a barbecue spot, a food pantry and now an affordable housing project for those transitioning out of homelessness.
The earliest mention of this address is in 1914 when it was Bridge’s Saloon owned by a gentleman named Roy Bridges. The structure was two-stories and Roy Bridges is thought to have lived on the upper floor.
When prohibition was implemented in 1920, Bridges pivoted to a Soft Drink Parlor but was later revealed to also be operating as a bootlegging joint.
By 1927, the building housed the Line Cafe. That year, the business was swept up in a major vice raid led by District Attorney Earl Warren, which resulted in 500 arrests in a single day. Authorities accused the cafe of hosting illegal Chinese lottery games.
A year later, the Ah Low Cafe was raided at the same address for the same reasons.
These raids continued throughout the prohibition years that ended in 1933.
In 1939 a card club named The Rex Club opened on the second floor of the building run by proprietor Sam Olson. The location advertised “Free Turkey Sandwiches and Corsages for the Women on Friday Nights.”
The Rex Club survived until June, 1944 at which time Olson left to open the Corona Club just down the road.
By 1950, the address was listed as The Sunset Club followed by Woody’s Sunset Club in 1953 then simply “Woody’s” by 1954.
By 1958, the original structure was thought to have been demolished. In its place, a small showroom was built that was occupied by Great Western Furniture Co.
By 1975, Doug’s Bar-B-Q opened in the space contributing to the great legacy of barbecue in the East Bay.
Proprietor Douglas Keyes hailed from Beaumont Texas where he worked at a slaughterhouse before mastering the art of Texas-style barbecue.
Doug’s was primarily a take-out spot known for their oak smoked meats including ribs, hot links, and housemade sides.
They operated at the space for over three decades until Doug passed away in 2007.
The space was next occupied by the Emeryville Citizens Assistance Program founded by former Emeryville councilwoman Nellie Hannon. “ECAP”, as they are known, have helped feed the food insecure since 1989.
The property eventually went into foreclosure and the city acquired it for the purpose of building affordable housing.
They broke ground on the “Nellie Hannon Gateway” project in 2023 completing the project two years later. The completed project contains 90 affordable housing units and a permanent space for ECAP to operate indefinitely.
