by Neena Strichart
Some of my favorite television programs are reality shows. Although I love oldie sitcoms like The Dick Van Dyke Show, I Love Lucy and such, reality shows really tickle me. Three of my favorites are Project Runway, Ax Men and Sister Wives. Yes, I am a complicated woman of varied interests!
When I received a call last Friday informing me that the show Bar Rescue would be filming Saturday night in our area, Steve and I jumped at the chance to participate in the action. We were especially pleased to learn that the subject of the show would be Lona’s Wardlow Station, a local bar/eatery that sits halfway (literally) between Signal Hill and Long Beach. I went over to the location, 1174 E. Wardlow Rd., around noon on Saturday to scope things out. The folks running things let me know that the big reveal would take place around 9:30 or 10 that very night! Rushing back home, I told Steve that if we wanted to get in on the filming we’d need to get make sure we were there in time.
After having a nice dinner at home, we headed over to the area across the street from Lona’s for a beverage or two at Roxanne’s to celebrate their second anniversary. Around 9pm, I peeked out the window and saw that folks were lining up at Lona’s for the filming. We said goodbye to those we were chatting with at Roxanne’s and walked the short distance to over to Lona’s. WOW! When we saw the brand-new lighted sign proclaiming the new name of the establishment, Lona’s City Limits Cantina, along with the enormous outdoor painting on the east side of the bar declaring the same, we knew we were in for something spectacular.
After waiting in line for about an hour we were all allowed inside— all 100 of us! The place looks great! It is brighter and more comfortable than ever. The new specialty drinks and new house-special menu are bound to be hits with the patrons. Most importantly, Lona looks happy and excited.
We weren’t allowed to take pictures inside during the filming, so we’ll have to share those with our readers when we do a follow-up article on the new Lona’s City Limits Cantina. We’ll give the folks at Lona’s a couple of weeks to settle in before we do a detailed story on the “new” place. (Note: We don’t have an exact date for the airing of the show— but were told it would be March or April. We’ll keep you posted.)
