Editor's Note: This SBQ originally ran on July 4, 2016, but given the tragic news that Bob Lovejoy passed away earlier this month, we are running it again in celebration of an amazing life.
“Jimmy’s Oriental Gardens opened in 1947, the same year I was born,” Bob Lovejoy tells me, clearly savoring that serendipitous fact as we sit by the bright red bar inside that hallowed drinking establishment. I’m talking to this genial gent with dry martini on hand and Frank Sinatra in the background, and close by is legendary Santa Barbara bartender Willy Gilbert. It’s definitely a Mad Men moment.
In 2013, Lovejoy lovingly restored this lounge, which closed in 2006, to its former glory by following its original plans. The main change was the name: it’s now called The Pickle Room, which is a nod to the Three Pickles deli next door, which Lovejoy also owns and runs with his son Clayton. “I’ve always enjoyed “50’s style food” explains Bob, “and it’s our interpretation of the East coast deli culture.”