What’s Happening at the Valverde Country Club?

We recently spotted banners hanging from the side of the Valverde Country Club, at 1319 West Alameda Avenue, announcing two conflicting messages: that the kitchen is now open and that the building is for sale. Since the Country Club is not on our regular rotation (we prefer less posh digs for our dives), it was difficult to determine which was the more relevant sign or how old either of them were. Turns out the place has been closed for a while and that the building was in fact for sale earlier this year.

Case Commercial Real Estate confirms that the building sold on June 1 but that the liquor license was not transferred to the new owners. Case also indicated that the new owner may have been looking to open a pho restaurant there, which would definitely be a change of pace for the immediate neighborhood. There’s now a for-rent sign in the window that’s newer than either of the banners, indicating that the new owner may be looking for a tenant. It could be the perfect time to restore the Valverde Country Club — not to be confused with the Valverde Yacht Club, which was closed in 2008 just two blocks to the east — to its previous dive-bar glory.