Historic Sacramento Bar Owners Upset School Is Being Built Next Door
SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — The owners of Sacramento's oldest dive bar are outraged that a private school is being built right next door to them.
Brookfield School will be right next to The Trap when it plans to open its doors this fall to more than 400 students.
The Trap has been open since 1860, and it's the kind of place where everybody knows your name.
"I've been coming here for a number of years actually," said Patrick Chladek. "Since July 1, 1975 to be exact."
But just next door, construction has been drowning out that familiar bar ambiance as a new school is being built. Owners fear that could eventually close the bar down for good.
"It seems like sort of an odd mix to put an educational institution next to a local neighborhood bar," Chladek said.
Crews are breaking ground on the Brookfield School, a private school for students from preschool to eighth grade.
The property butts right up against Sacramento's oldest dive bar, which has been designated a historic landmark.
"It's a bar next to a drinking establishment, and I wholeheartedly believe it's not a place to sit next to a school," said part-owner Veronica Crudo.
She says they weren't told a school would be built next to The Trap, until it was too late.
"I was absolutely under the impression that it was a no-go," she said.
CBS13 reached out to the city, which says the project has gone through the proper approval process, and anyone within 500 feet of the property was notified.
But bar owners and longtime customers say alcohol and school just don't mix, and they fear once the new school is in, this old nostalgic bar will be forced out.
"You kind of lose the flavor of the Pocket which was that rural feel, and it's really kind of tragic," Chladek said.
"The people that come here want to see this place stand," said Crudo. "They have been vital in its preservation. They fought for the historical designation and they want to see it succeed."