There's a brewery in Upland?

Damn right! Dale Bros. Brewery to be exact and you can order up a bottle over at Lamppost Pizza. Check out this video then go get ripped.



Their website is here. Time to start your weekend.

For more stories concerning Upland, see the Topic links over on the right---->
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Sign of the Times

People are getting laid off left and right. Hours are being slashed, stores are closing and homes are foreclosing. It's hard to find thriving businesses these day but I found one, the sign maker for MGR Property Management.

These signs are everywhere these days. MGR is based in Upland and I actually do some business with them and they do an fine job, however, I look forward to the day when I don't see as many of their signs out.

Off Topic: If anyone has any pictures of the old Sal's Pizza store front on Foothill and second let me know, I'm putting together a series of things that aren't here anymore. Mmmmmmmm, Calzone.

For more stories concerning Upland, see the Topic links over on the right---->
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Uplanders don't like Gay people in their yogurt shops

So, the Gay Straight Alliance of Upland High School was all set to hold a fundraiser at Yogurtime in Upland. The some customers called up and complained that they would stop coming there if the event moved forward. I know some people care what other people do in their private lives but that's not my thing (on the flip side, seeing dudes make out in public isn't my thing either). Is it really necessary to boycott a place because they hold a gay fundraiser?

I refuse to believe that Upland residents are behind these threats. Pffft...I know it wasn't Claremont either. It's got to be those Montclaireos...eons...ites...whatever. I know it was you Montclair. I told you to stay below 7th anyway! You people are only allowed in Golden Spoons.

Now is a bad time to be threatening businesses with the economy all fouled up.

Yogurtime is located in the old Miller's Outpost shopping center on 8th and Mountain. Go buy some yogurt there. I don't even know if it's good yogurt but if gay people like it, it's probably pretty good right?

I'll let IER review it if he chooses cuz that is his thing...Reviewing that is not the gay thing. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

DB's write up.

For more stories concerning Upland, see the Topic links over on the right---->
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What went down at Barbee's Pizza?

When I was a kid, in the eighties, living in Upland, there was one place to get the best pizza in town, Barro's Pizza. I still remember my dad and I driving home with a large pepperoni and me poking open one of the vent holes on the pizza box just to get a smell of that perfect pie.

Located on 16th and Mountain (another location on Baseline and Archibald), Barro's really had no competition for the best pizza in town. At some point, Barro's was sold to John Barbee, who changed the name to...duh, Barbee's. No big deal, pizza was the same and the name was close.

Everything was moving along swimmingly for Upland and Barbee's Pizza. I would frequently see John Barbee around town, in the store, or towing his boat. Things were great, in fact, he expanded. He bought the corner unit and built Loco Gringo. Still everything is cool...or so it seemed.

Then boom, Friday morning, July 10, 2004 the following happens...

Pizza Joint Busted (Ed. note: Nice headline Daily Bulletin)

UPLAND - The herb sold to certain customers by a local pizza restaurant over the past several months wasn't oregano, according to the Upland Police Department.

Officers from the Upland/Ontario Narcotics Task Force arrested John Barbee, 39, and Shaun Stacy, 19, both of Upland, and Andre Dennis, 25, of Hawthorne early Friday morning for selling marijuana out of a restaurant owned by Barbee.

Barbee owns Barbee's Pizza, 1667 N. Mountain Ave., and Loco Gringo, a nearby Mexican restaurant, Upland police said.

The narcotics task force began their investigation into possible marijuana sales out of the pizza business in March. Undercover narcotics officers made several marijuana purchases over the...

The website I found this at wants $200 to show me the rest of the article. No deal.

Anyway, I heard through the grapevine that the arrest went down "Cops style" and Barbee went running out the backdoor of his restaurant to evade police...allegedly.

I can't find out anything else about this story so if any of you have any other details let me know.

There is now another Pizza place there but I haven't tried it yet.

For more stories concerning Upland, see the Topic links over on the right---->
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Chicks Sporting Goods bought by Dick's

I'm not going to bother making any obvious Chick/Dick jokes about this because it would just come off "Hackish".

I just found out that Dick's Sporting Goods bought Chick's in 2007. Chicks has been on the forefront of hiring High School girls and selling $40 sweatshirts for years and I hope Dick's is prepared for that.

I can't imagine that they would keep both locations open in east Upland. What will happen if Chick's leaves the center on Foothill and Second. Can H. Salt and Sizzlin' step in and anchor.

I sure as hell don't want to see another Indoor Swap meet like over on Grove.
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Upland Picture Of The Week: Taco King

Taco King on Foothill west of Grove. Home of the Bean Special. What more needs to be said? ...Read more!

WTF...Sizzlin' in Upland?...Where's my The Sizzler?

Look, I love Sizzler. I'm kind of a schmo though so I don't really count. Sizzler in has had a long run in Upland. The little restaurant near Chick's on Foothill has been a good neighbor. They served good food, at good prices and even sponsored Little League teams for many years. Unfortunately that run is over...kind of...

On the good side, as far as I can tell, the only thing that has changed is the two letters at the end. I didn't ask but I'm guessing that the franchise fee's had something to do with it. Hell, if the Bleu Cheese stays the same they can call that place Dumpster's and I'd still hit it.

"The" Sizzler is (apparently) a victim of it's own Salad/Dessert/appetizer Bar success. They started focusing too much on the Bar and lower the quality of the entree's. Who cares? Who orders a steak at La Sizzler (ummm Steakhouse) anyway? Not me, no one in my circle.

Unfortunately, due to my wife not being a big fan of The Sizz, I don't get over there often. I will make sure to support Sizzlin' this year.

Mmmm...Bleu Cheese on Baked Potato Skins. ...Read more!

Local Shopping Alternative: Wine & Spirits

Continuing my series on shopping alternatives that help the community I'm now going to suggest that next time you host a get together and need a case of beer or visit a friend and need a bottle of wine or lose a job and want to get....never mind.

Forget Bevmo, pass on the grocery store, and use 7/11 for soda and jerky. Drop by Upland institution Liquorama and spend your money where it will be reinvested locally.

Tucked neatly in the corner by Lamppost Pizza on the NW corner of Foothill and San Anton(io) where this family business been helping you find fine wine and spirits since 1978.

Also check out what has got to be the best Upland based business site there is. Congrats on that guys and keep up the good work.

They can be reached at 909-985-3131 and there hours are:

9AM - 8PM Monday - Saturday
10AM - 5PM Sunday

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Upland Hills Golf Course Strategy Guide/Intro

Next week I'll be starting a new weekly series that will catalog all 18 holes at Upland Hills Country Club. I'm pleased to tell you that I won't be flying solo on this one as UHCC's General Manager/Director of Golf Rick Parillo has graciously accepted my invitation to add his comments/tips on each hole.

We'll be starting with hole 18 and working backwards until I get to 1. In the end we'll have a complete Strategy Guide for playing the Upland Hills Golf Course.

For non golfers, it'll give you a good idea about what's "behind the gates" over there on baseline. We'll also answering questions like: Are there lakes on the course? What holes do I see on the corner of 16th and Campus? And, Is the course on both sides of 16th and if so, how do the golfers get to the other side?

For golfers, this should prove to be an excellent reference for when you are heading out to a tee time at UHGC. It'll be like taking the Club Pro on the course with you and it'll give you the edge you need to maybe take a couple strokes off of your score and maybe a couple of bucks off of your friends

Check back with us next Saturday, January 24 when we introduce a Upland's Finishing Hole #18

For Tee Times at Upland Hills Golf Course, call 909-946-4711. ...Read more!

No more PFF Orange Crate Calender

One of the forgotten casualties of the recent economic crisis is the PFF Orange Crate Calander. Every year they would release a new calendar with classic a Fruit Crate label for each month. Since PFF was taken over by US Bank, they have discontinued the product.

For those that aren't familiar with fruit crate labels, here is the short history.

I've heard from some sources that the same packing plant might use a different label for each season or even a few every season depending on the destination. This may account for the seemingly endless number of labels.

I found some old calendars on ebay and there is also some people making new calendars but it's just not the same.

Feel free to add to this story by clicking the Comment button below and letting us know what you think.
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Local Shopping Alternative: Hardware

Times are tough and it's time to do our best, whenever possible to keep out money local. Weekly I'll be suggesting a local alternative to an Out-of-Town chain. Obviously the big chains do there part by employing locals and paying taxes but the local guys do the same plus the profits are more likely to be used in the Inland Empire. I will need suggestions here as the obvious ones will go quick.

I'm certainly not suggesting you pay double for a product but just give the local "Mom and Pop" a shot at your business.

This week I suggest you try shopping at Hoyt Lumber Co. on 120 S. Euclid (909-982-8857) instead of going to Home Depot or Lowes. The Hoyt store is one of my favorite buildings in Upland and you feel like you are in a real hardware store in there. As a bonus, the best parking spot at Lowes or HD is worse than the worst parking spot at Hoyt.

Get your suggestions in quick, if I find a local alternative to Chipotle, I may be able to single handedly turn the IE's sagging economy around. ...Read more!

New Kaiser Permanente Facility in Upland

On October 14 (Pre-Blog) Kaiser Permanente opened the doors to a new facility at 1183 E. Foothill Blvd next to the GuestHouse Inn. It includes:

• Family Medicine
• Pediatrics
• Internal Medicine
• Lab
• Pharmacy
• Radiology

They get a bad rap but I've had them for a few years and I have been very impressed.

Today I was at the RC facility and picked up the flier on the right. ...Read more!

WTF?....Bullwinkle's now Boomers!?

I remember having parties at the Bullwinkle's/Family Fun Center on 7th and Central when I was a kid and all of my memories are fond. I also remember spending time in the batting cages with my baseball teams and miniature golfing with friends. Again, all good. Since then I've grown up, moved away, moved back, had kids and B/FFC was bought by Boomers!.

With these memories in mind, I took my son down to Boomers! a few weeks ago to see what had changed and what was the same. Granted, I'm 25+ years older than my first visit, but the place just seemed smaller. As a kid, the Bullwinkle's building just seemed like a big fun maze. Now, the Log Cabin-y feel has been replaced by a bad 50's decor and the awesome stage puppet show of Rocky and Bullwinkle (+gang) has been replaced by a big fake jukebox....an no water show...bummer. Most of the games were either First Person Shooters or games where you roll your token in and hope to displace other tokens to win tickets. Even the tix were really cheap thermal printer paper rather than card stock.

The carnival setup in between the two buildings was OK but had a "Carny" look and there is a big structure in the middle made for misting in the summer that is all rusty. The go-cart track looked great and the people riding them were definitely having fun.

FFC again looked older and smaller and the games were more shooters and Sit-in car and cycle games. The mini-golf courses all looked good but I didn't play them. The inside east course is now a Cosmic-Black light theme.

Overall it was a real disappointment mainly due to the changes over at Bullwinkle's Restaurant. The only change for the good that was made was that they finally removed the spike strips at the exit. I never understood that. ...Read more!

PFF OWNED...

...now by US Bank. On November 22 Federal regulators seized and PFF Bank & Trust (Trust?). They tried to seize the bank the day before but they arrived after banking hours. It turns out that PFF made loans. Per the LA Times:

"PFF, short for Pomona First Federal, specialized in loans to Inland Empire developers and home builders, running up $289.5 million in losses in the January-September period."

There goes the bank I got my first savings account at when I was about 12. US Banks first action should be to widen the doorways at the Euclid and Foothill location. As far as I know, Olive Oil does not have an account there.

PFF's stock is down 99.8% from it's highs.

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