Philadelphia-themed bar in San Diego excited for NLCS
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Sporting events bring fans together across the country, and one bar in San Diego is known as the place to be if you're a Philadelphia sports fan. As the Phillies-Padres NCLS gets underway, the owner of Pretzels and Pints calls it the "perfect storm."
"The next day it was like Holy… it happened. And it's all happening so quick. It's a surreal, unbelievable moment that I'll never forget. It's been fantastic, it's been a great ride," John Paul Lacoangelo said.
Lacoangelo, better known as Boomer, owns a Philly-themed bar in the North Park section of San Diego. He says Pretzels and Pints is a "cozy little neighborhood bar" where Philly fans living on the West Coast come together for Philly sports games.
While Philly sports runs through the veins of the bar, Padres fans also come out and support the local business. During Game 1 of the NLCS Tuesday night, Boomer expected a mixed crowd.
"It's going to be a battle of the hometowns," Boomer said. "I feel like it's going to be 50-50 spilt here tonight. That's good because you know it's going to be a lot of banter, a lot of talking and you know it's going to be a really good time."
He says he can only imagine what the vibes are like in Philadelphia because Philly fans in San Diego are on a "high."
"The Philadelphia sports scene here is on a high now, just like it is across the country. I can online imagine the scene in Philadelphia. Everybody's happy right now," Boomer said.
Boomer had been living on the West Coast for over 10 years when he moved to San Diego and started looking for a career change. His idea was to create a little Philadelphia mancave, something small, and now six years later, the business has blown up and is thriving.
"Often so much in the last two years, we get so many people that come here to San Diego on vacation and they say, my neighbor told me about this spot, my cousin told me about this spot, my boss told me about it. We had to come in," Boomer said, "And currently I'm getting more and more text messages of people saying, 'Hey, I was down at the Linc on Sunday and I saw somebody wearing a Pretzels and Pints shirt. It's an awesome feeling I love what I do."
He's getting the best of both worlds. Enjoying life as a Philadelphia sports fan while living in paradise, which he says is San Diego.
Pretzels and Pints serves everything pretzels, from pretzel sandwiches to pretzels pizzas and the more traditional pretzels -- which are always a Philly favorite.
The most popular menu item? The Philly soft pretzel pair, which is served with spicy brown mustard and homemade beer cheese sauce.
But for the sandwiches, Boomer says The Original is the go-to. It's got hot capicola, pepperoni, and melted provolone cheese served on a pretzel roll.
None of Philadelphia's professional athletes have visited the bar yet, but he'd love for someone to stop in.
"So far, nobody has come out, but we'll have a seat waiting for them," Boomer said. "I would love to have any Philly athlete come in here. We'll welcome them with open arms."
As for who he's rooting for in the NLCS, he says he is "100% rooting for the Phillies," but he values the talent both teams bring to the table.
"Both of these teams have a fantastic story to tell at the end of this series, and they also have a very promising future," Boomer said, "So whoever wins, whoever loses they should be proud of themselves."
