Waterfront bar customers demand beer

While the rest of the United States may be up in arms over the Second Amendment or argumentative about the First Amendment, the amendment that is of most concern to the owners and patrons of the Waterfront bar is the 21st.

Eighty years ago — on December 5, 1933 — the 21st Amendment overturned the 18th Amendment, and Prohibition was lifted.

The Waterfront opened in 1933 and claims to be San Diego’s oldest tavern. In the early days, tuna fishermen made it their hangout. Pictures of their exploits still hang on the wall. More recently, in the 1990s, you would find more of a business crowd occupying the barstools. Author Joseph Wambaugh was known to like the burgers.

If you ever watched The Devil’s Ride on the Discovery Channel then you know of “Billy the Kid.” He was a bartender at the Waterfront before he was president of the motorcycle club. Waterfront owner Nancy Nichols may have taught him how to deal with knuckleheads.

In celebration of the repeal of Prohibition on December 5, fake protests were held outside the bar.