Meet Jim Ritson | Bar and Restaurant Owner

We had the good fortune of connecting with Jim Ritson and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jim, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
The thought process came from a few places….I grew up in a household where we built things and fixed things ourselves. I know that is not uncommon, but in hindsight, I see that that was foundational for me when it came to starting a business. Additionally, When I moved to Long Beach in 1999, I met a couple of people here who started really cool businesses and it made me realize that a person could build something in a DIY fashion and that your work life could be an extension of your personal interests. That was amazing to me and something I didn’t really know was possible until I moved here and saw other people doing those cool things. Lastly, back in 2008 my girlfriend Sophia wanted to open a wine bar and told her that I would help her build it. That happened and shortly after we finished it and opened, she brought me into the business to do the things there that I loved like host art and music shows, bring in beers I liked and now all these years later we’re still at it…..different business, but similar spirit, and we’re still partners!

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I never went to college and I wasn’t a great student. I started out working construction, both residential and commercial. I joined the Ironworkers union and went through the 4 year apprenticeship, became a journeyman and almost immediately quit. I was lucky for all of the things I learned in those early years of my life, but doing that for a living wasn’t for me. Luckily the dot com boom had just begun and my closest friend Wade talked me into going to a trade school for Network Engineering. I completed a 9 month program and got into technology. The work ethic I learned in construction paid off and gave me a bit of an edge in that world and I excelled pretty quickly, becoming a Network Architect for AT&T where I traveled the world building Data Centers. I learned a lot of good skills there, but I wasn’t any happier in an office environment than I had been up on the iron. I was a couple of years into that position when Sophia presented her idea to open a wine bar and what would become 4th Street Vine. My true love in life has always been music and 4th Street Vine gave me a place to host live music shows. for a 6 or 8 year run there we hosted live music 5-6 nights per week and every show was free. Paul Gonzalez came to work at 4th Street Vine and we became great friends and booked bands together all the time. Paul knows just about everyone so he really helped me so much to do something that was pretty special. I made a million friends, saw a million great shows and basically had the time of my life. in 2018 I became involved in a partnership and we purchased a run down restaurant/bar and turned it into The Bamboo Club, which is what I am running now. It’s a Tiki Bar and restaurant and we also host live music and entertainment here. It’s a fun and busy place. In between the two Sophia and I opened a cocktail bar that we really loved called Bar Ya Sabes. Unfortunately, Covid hit just after we opened and due to the uncertainty of the world at that time, we sold it. I wouldn’t say it was easy to do the things we’ve done, there have been and always are challenges. I would say that the most beneficial skill that you need to overcome the myriad of challenges that you will face in running a small business is tenacity and principle. If you stand by your principle and have enough tenacity, you probably stand the best chance of both personal and professional success.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
One week Long Beach Itinerary

Bar Hopping – V Room, The Hawk, a visit to see Rod late night at O’Connels

Some Live Music – Vine and Alex’s Bar

Record Store Shopping – Third Eye Records and Twelves. If we need a little more of that, Toxic Toast and Fingerprints.

Food – Coffee from Good Time and a Breakfast Burger from Hamburgers Nice while we are there. Some street Mexican food from Lionydas on Clark, a Pastrami sandwich from Beach City Grill, breakfast burrito at Guisados, some Carne en su Jugo from Canadas and maybe a chili dog from Tommy’s

Hangin’ Out – If it’s Summertime, maybe hang out on the Bay at the Peninsula and play some Boche ball.

Field Trip – We for sure would take a field trip to San Pedro where we would visit The Sardine for some live music, invite our friends at Calimucho to meet us at Brouwerij West for a beer and grab a sandwich at Busy Bee

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
If there is one person who deserves credit for my time as a small business owner it is Sophia Sandoval. Without her none of the things that I have accomplished in business would have happened. She was the crucial inspiration into starting a real business and into doing it the right way.

Website: https://www.bambooclublb.com

Instagram: @bambooclublb