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Union Jack Pub comes tumbling down
New restaurant to replace 1880s business, building

by Jeb Bing

One of Pleasanton's oldest and last of the city's famed and sometimes notorious downtown bars gave way last weekend to the wrecker's scoop to make way for a more refined restaurant.

Crews showed up early Saturday morning. After closing off the sidewalk in front of Union Jack at 725 Main St., it took only a few hours for the jaws of a large wrecking crane to rip the 1880s building to scraps of wood. By Monday, the site was a vacant lot.

The old British pub attracted troops from both World Wars who came to Pleasanton, in those years known for its 13 "hard core" Main Street bars. In recent years, it also became a favorite of younger couples in their early 20s who found it one of the few downtown bars that they could afford and that welcomed younger customers. In 2004, the Union Jack was named the best place for "Boys' Night Out" in the Pleasanton Weekly's annual "Best of Pleasanton" report.

But even then, Union Jack was gaining a reputation for a more rowdy crowd, with frequent reports of vandalism, noise, public drunkenness and public urination against the sides of adjoining businesses. With threats by the city's Planning Commission that it might seek to cancel the Union Jack's conditional use permit that allowed the sale of alcoholic beverages, owner Richard Ressler decided in February 2005 to close the establishment.

In its place, developer Michael O'Callaghan, building owner Michael Periclis and architect Charles Huff will build a new, two-story, 4,800-square-foot, Monterey-mission style structure. At 34-feet in height, it will be one of the tallest on Main Street. While the tenant of the building hasn't been determined, it's planned to house a single restaurant on both floors, with the second floor having an outdoor dining feel. O'Callaghan said it would be the first of its kind in the downtown.

The structure will also have a 720-square-foot apartment to the rear of the second story.

Construction on the new building will begin this fall and will be completed next spring or summer.