How Strummer's is Helping Out Employees & Fans of Livingstone's

A lot of us are still in shock over the arrest last week of a suspect in the fire that has temporarily closed Livingstone’s Restaurant in the Tower District. Last month, fans of the local watering hole banded together to raise over $11,600 to help out employees whose jobs were put on hold while the restaurant rebuilds. Livingstone’s neighbor, Strummer’s, is also finding ways to help out the restaurant’s employees and its customers.

Brandon Duenas, General Manager of Strummer’s—a combination concert hall, restaurant, bar, and club—says that after the fire, he saw a way to assist some members of the displaced Livingstone’s staff. “The staff there have always treated myself and Strummer’s kindly,” he says. “I saw an opportunity to extend some hours to them, as limited as they may be, to help get them through the initial holiday season.”

Duenas was able to hire three members of the bartending staff, as well as one security team member. These employees will work part-time at Strummer’s until Livingstone’s is able to reopen.

Strummer’s has also extended its hours to accommodate customers who are used to Livingstone’s longer hours. Although the bar is normally closed Mondays, since the fire, it has opened from 3 p.m. to 2 a.m. every Monday. Sunday hours have also been extended to 2 a.m. instead of the usual midnight closing.

Duenas says Strummer’s is doing what it can to help pick up the slack. “We opened on Christmas day, which normally we would be closed, and had two of their bartenders, along with myself, open. Stone’s is a staple for Christmas day nightcaps and I wanted to keep that thread going, if possible. It proved to be successful all around for both the staff of Stone’s and the Tower community.”

A meeting to plan a proposed benefit show for Livingstone’s at Strummer’s will take place tonight. In the meantime, soccer fans should take special note that the bar is open for every Liverpool and Arsenal match, whether that’s at 4 a.m. or midnight, as well as every U.S.A. men’s match. More information about match meet-ups can be found on the 559FC Fresno Football Supporters Facebook page.

Information on shows coming to Strummer’s (including a David Bowie celebration happening Friday) can be found on its website and Facebook page.

Author
Recent Posts

Jason Farris

Head YES man at FresYes.com

I grew up in Fresno. Relaxed in its calm breezes, listened with my dad to the crack of the bat at little league baseball games when I was a kid and now take my son to do the same at minor league games. I broadened my mind at its schools (I went to high school right here at San Joaquin Memorial, and to college at Fresno State!) I love that if I drive for two hours in one direction, I can be in the mountains. For two hours in another, luxuriating on a California beach. I can enjoy the cosmopolitan atmosphere of San Francisco or Los Angeles, but still be able to come home to relaxation, calm, and quiet.

I love where I live, and I also love what I do. I'm lucky to be able to work in a profession in which I get to build relationships; one that has me meeting new people each and every day and helping them to build new lives in my beloved city. I'm lucky enough to work in a profession in which I can marry cutting-edge technologies and marketing techniques to good, old-fashioned, nose-to-the-grindstone work. I am lucky enough to work in a profession that allows me to work as an advocate for my clients; to use every tool at my disposal to get a job done well for them, and with as little stress and expense as possible.

I love my city. I love my job. One inspires my excellence for the other.

Fresno? I say FresYES

Leave a Reply Cancel reply