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When we pulled the sheetrock down we found this symbol painted on the wall (note the smiley face on the upper right side). We thought it may have been from the Int’l Brotherhood of Electrical Workers but we’ve contacted our local chapter (180) and they don’t think it is from them. It would have made sense as apparently a lot of the guys used to meet at the bar back in the day (they may have even held their meetings there in the upstairs "meeting room"). Does anyone have any idea what this is? It was probably a drunken prank the night before the sheetrock went up, you can just hear it “let’s paint this on the wall and when someone finds it a 100 years from now they won’t know what to think”. At least in my mind that’s what happened!

Retrofit update

We’re about 70% done with the retrofit and plan it to be completed by the end of April. We have excavated part of the floor on the first level, have installed rebar and we're pouring the concrete underneath the wood floors today. (You'll note in the photo, this is the bar to the left as you walk in the front door, We are pouring the concrete underneath the whole floor.) Next step, insert large steel I-Beams which will stabilize the walls and floors and the roof. This is exciting. 

Papa's Music Box

aka the cash register and the CHA CHING noise it made everytime something was rung up. Nick was known to say "If I knew making money was this easy I'd have sold the ranch a lot sooner".

Nicola "Nick" Francesco Fagiani

A little about Nick. He was an Italian immigrant who came to the US with nothing and built quite an empire. He was a hard working farmer, winemaker and salesman – he would farm the land, make the wine and hit the pavement and sell it one bottle at a time. He eventually purchased 125 acres of land in Oakville and created a large ranch which has since since been broken up into smaller parcels but the main house is still where Plumpjack is today(if you want to see what the ranch was like rent “They Knew What They Wanted” starring Charles Laughton & Carole Lombard – it was filmed there in the late 1930’s). He had connections all over the US & Italy which helped him in his business dealings. During prohibition he sold “grape juice” to some of his connections in Chicago. It’s hard to imagine doing all this without the use of computers and limited telephone lines. The bar was just one of his business endevours but it is said one of his favorites. He enjoyed the lively atmosphere, the friendships made and being the good old hardworking businessman he was, the money he made!

Signed, sealed and delivered - the bar is ours!

December, 2007: Signed, sealed and delivered - the bar is ours!

A brief history of the bar. The brick and stone building was built in 1909 and held a grocery store and The Thomas restaurant until Nick Fagiani purchased the building and opened Fagiani’s Cocktail Lounge & Liquor Store in 1945. It was a popular gathering place for blue collar workers from Mare Island, Kaiser Steel and Basalt, just to name a few. Nick passed away in 1969 and his daughters Muriel and Anita decided to keep the bar open and run it themselves. On July 10, 1974 small town Napa was shaken to it’s core; Anita was murdered inside the bar after closing and no suspect was found. Muriel kept the bar open until 1976 and then decided to close it up as it was with beer bottles in the cooler, glasses on the bar, barstools where they were. Then began the local’s facination with the building. Oh, if only these walls could talk.