The Legend of Matt Denny
Matt Denny was the only son of an Irish Sea Captain. Most of Matt Denny’s childhood was spent running back and forth between the Eastern sea board and the Caribbean. Born on Key West, and schooled in the deep water ports of the warm Caribbean seas, Matt loved the colors and flavors of these tropical playgrounds. By the age of fourteen, Matt was working as a cook at the only place to eat in Pirates Cove; Jimmy B’s Havana Day Dream.
Matt Denny’s family was lost at sea in the Bermuda triangle, so Matt decided to leave the Caribbean and try his luck in Mexico. There he was befriended by a local wheeler dealer, Roberto Avila. Roberto and Matt opened a cantina where “pirates’ bought and sold hard to get cargo. Roberto y Mateo’s Cantina was the busiest bar in all of Mexico.
A dispute over a card game sent Matt Denny north to the safety of the Pacific Northwest, where he ran into Peter Russell, a famous hunter and guide. Together Matt and Peter hiked the streams and mountains of the Northwest with Peter making a good living selling furs, while Matt cooked the game for local lumberjacks. Some of their early trophies can be seen on the walls of this very Ale House… there’s Mac the moose and Warren the elk.
The lure of the endless riches brought Matt down to California. He had several set backs before he returned to what he did best… feeding the locals. Matt found miners and settlers lining up at his campfire every night for a hearty meal and a homemade ale. It was at Artie’s Camp where Matt Denny opened his first Alehouse. The back bar that you see in this restaurant is the original bar from over a hundred years ago.
Today we use the same recipes from the Caribbean, Mexico, Pacific Northwest and early California that Matt Denny developed during his lifetime. We match these great meals with the best hand crafted ales available. So please, enjoy our founder’s love for good food and ale and come back again.