In 1946, a group of filmmakers built a Western-style movie set in the high desert 25 miles north of Palm Springs for the cowboy actors Roy Rogers and Gene Autry.[1] Production designers decorated the facades of "Main Street" with a Western saloon, bank, chapel and a cantina. Pioneertown and its cantina were used in more than 50 films and television programs throughout the 1940s and 1950s, including The Cisco Kid and Judge Roy Bean.[1][2] In 1972, John Aleba and his wife Francis purchased the building and John further developed the property into a cantina.
1946-1982
In 1946, at the site where Pappy & Harriet's stands today, filmmakers built a cantina set that was used in numerous Westerns during the 1950s. In 1972, Harriet's mother, Francis Aleba, purchased the building and opened The Cantina, an outlaw bikerburrito bar. The Cantina rollicked for 10 years before its closing. [citation needed]
1982-2004
In 1982, Aleba's daughter Harriet and her husband, Claude "Pappy" Allen, bought The Cantina and renamed it Pappy & Harriet's Pioneertown Palace. With its family style Tex-Mex cuisine and live music, The Cantina often featured Pappy, Harriet, and their granddaughter Kristina, and became a local haunt for bikers.
Pappy + Harriet were beloved and Harriet was legendary for cooking, then coming out on stage and singing songs, then straight back into the kitchen to maker her famous food. There was music every week and a family atmosphere that catered mostly to locals and the park visitors. Pappy did much of the building around the venue. Known for his love his whiskey and a good time, he was a proprietor that everyone adored. Word got out and the venue became even more popular as people realized they could get great food and entertainment in the middle of nowhere. The legend that Pappy + Harriet created is the one that lives today as each new owner brings their own brand of style to grow the business. while staying true to the roots of an independent venue.
When Pappy Allen died in 1994, hundreds of mourners from around the world attended his memorial, including Victoria Williams, who later recorded the song "Happy to Have Known Pappy" for her Atlantic Records release, Loose.
A local airplane pilot, Jay Hauk, owned Pappy and Harriet's for a few years before it was next purchased.
In the summer of 2006, the Sawtooth Complex fire threatened Pappy & Harriet's and the rest of Pioneertown, but the town and club were not among the 50 homes and over 60,000 acres of desert burned.[3][4]
2003-2020
In 2003, Robyn Celia and Linda Krantz purchased Pappy and Harriet's. They ushered in an era of roadhouse cuisine remaining true to the original Tex-Mex and booked a combination of local and big name musicians who enjoyed the small venue where they could unwind and take a break from the standard touring scene. Performers such as Leon Russell, Robert Plant and, Paul McCartney loved the all-in attitude of the audiences. Pappy's, as it's affectionately referred to by locals, became a home to the "High Desert Sound" including performers like Queens of the Stone Age and Jesika Rabit (who had a nacho dish named after her).[5]
Billboard Magazine named Pappy & Harriet's one of the Top Ten Hidden Gems in the Country in its 2012 Best Clubs issue. The club attracts artists and musicians from all over the world.
NY Times Magazine featured Pappy and Harriet's in its 2013 article "Listen Up | In The California Desert, A One Of A Kind Music Venue Blossoms."
SXSW featured the documentary The Pioneertown Palace in 2014.
Anthony Bourdain featured Pappy & Harriet's in the "US Desert" episode of his television show Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations.
In 2014, Simian Mobile Disco performed/recorded their live album "Whorl" during a one-off set at Pappy & Harriet's.[7] The set, a jam session in the desert, and a bit of studio work in London contributed to the final album.[8]
Coachella Festival promoters Goldenvoice Productions and Santa Monica-based NPR station KCRW have presented shows at Pappy & Harriet's. The majority of bookings were generated by one of the club's former co-owners, Robyn Celia.
A Monday night Open Mic hosted by musician Ted Quinn features hundreds of performers. Most of the Open Mic performers are local or lesser-known traveling troubadours, but many established artists, including Feist, Julie Christensen, and Ke$ha have also made appearances for this low-key event.
One particular energetic night, the house band learned that former Earth, Wind & Fire member, David Lautrec and a few members of Desert Redux were eating. The band and the raucous crowd urged them on stage where Lautrec set the keyboards ablaze with crazy riffs. Such impromptu appearances happened with some frequency.
Cracker and Camper Van Beethoven formerly held a successful annual outdoor festival, The Camp-Out, at Pappy & Harriet's. Gram Rabbit had an annual Halloween party and plays the part of The Grim Rabbit. Americana singer-songwriter, Jim Lauderdale, performs at Pappy & Harriet's every spring in a show known as "Jim-fest."
Babes in Toyland had their first reunion show here on February 10, 2015. It marked the band's first performance in 14 years since their breakup in 2001.[9]
2021 onward
In the spring of 2021, Pappy + Harriet's was sold to a married couple in the hospitality and entertainment businesses. The couple are the restaurant's owner/operators and also handle all music bookings and promotions in-house.
The LA Times wrote its first food review in March 2022 and gave it a rave review on food merits alone.[10]
The Desert Sun Named it to Ultimate Palm Springs area bucket list: "20 Things To Do When Visiting the Coachella Valley And Surrounding Area" in October 2021
The LA Times Named it to "The 101 Best California Experiences" in May 2022
The LA Times named it as one of the, "43 Best California Experiences To Add To Your Fall Bucket List" October 2022
Notable performances since 2021 include Phoenix, Pete Yorn, Belle & Sebastian, Orville Peck, Patti Smith, Wynona Judd, Lukas Nelson and POTR, Modest Mouse, Rodrigo Amirante, Cracker, Jim Lauderdale, Hermanos Guiterrres featuring Dan Auerbach of The Black Keys, Tanya Tucker, David Lautrec and Desert Redux, Drive By Truckers, Rosie Flores, Built To Spill, Hawthorne Heights, Taking Back Sunday, Billy Bob Thornton, The Psychedelic Furs, Lucinda Williams, The Dead Kennedy’s, Gregory Alan Isakov, Jesse Daniel, Everclear, Sponge, Son Volt,Ani Di Franco, Rooney, Mac Sabbath, Paul Cauthen, The Zombies, Coheed and Cambria, and Aly + AJ. Upcoming shows include Violent Femmes, Adam Ant, Lukas Nelson, Classixx, Unwritten Law, Matisyahu and Ghostland Observatory, Patti Smith, Uncle Kracker, and Sylvan Esso.
Coachella Festival promoters Goldenvoice Productions have had several Coachella side shows including Jamie XX, the Marias, and the Stage coach Kick-Off party with Tanya Tucker and Orville Peck.
In popular culture
The building that houses Pappy & Harriet's has been used as a set in many films and television programs from the 1940s to the present.[2]
Howling: New Moon Rising was shot in and around Pappy & Harriet's and Pioneertown. The film featured many of the bar's regular customers as cast members.
The restaurant is used as a location in the documentary Nowhere Now: The Ballad of Joshua Tree.
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