America's tiny golden city to lose iconic bar serving 'millionaires' club' as owner in landlord dispute

Daily Mail​

21 hours ago

Carmel-by-the-Sea, famed for its oceanfront beauty, luxury boutiques and sky-high real estate, is on the verge of losing one of its most beloved institutions: a 400-square-foot dive bar.
Just one square mile in size, this Californian enclave is as famous for its quirks as its celebrity pedigree and is known for its storybook architecture, artistic heritage, and lack of street addresses, streetlights, and chain restaurants.
Clint Eastwood once served as mayor, Doris Day retired here, and the town still enforces a 1963 ordinance banning high heels without a permit to prevent tripping on its uneven sidewalks.
Nicknamed the 'Texan Riviera' due to its popularity with wealthy families from the Lone Star State, it draws vacationing billionaires, former presidents, and Hollywood stars - yet still clings to a handful of unpretentious local haunts. However one of its most famous may soon vanish due to a landlord dispute.
Sade's, founded in 1926 and affectionately nicknamed the 'Millionaires' Club' by its owner for the well-heeled regulars who mingle there, is set to close on January 31, 2026, after nearly a century of serving locals, tourists and celebrities alike.
The bar is wedged into a tiny storefront just off Ocean Avenue, marked only by a weathered sign and a Dutch door that swings open to a wall of noise.
Inside, the worn horseshoe bar dominates the room, every stool claimed early in the night.
The walls are crammed with decades of trinkets and photos left behind by drinkers who came, stayed and returned.
Behind the counter, bottles sit under a 'cash only' sign – a nod to the fact that Sade's does things the old way, and it works.
Despite its size, Sade's has always played larger than life. Crowds routinely spill into the street after 9pm, some waiting to get in, others ducking out for a cigarette or continuing conversations in the coastal night air.
It is Carmel's oldest dive bar – a no-frills counterweight to the town's luxury veneer.
Owner Parker Logan told Daily Mail: 'It is the town watering hole. Even the most distinguished people staying at the fanciest hotels seek it out.
'There's enough lavish and luxury around town – they can't believe there's a place like this here. People who discover it will spend every night of their trip here.'
Logan, a fourth-generation Carmelite, first walked into Sade's at 21 and vowed to buy it one day.
In 2011, he struck a cocktail-napkin deal with then-owner Frank Grupe for first rights to purchase if the bar ever went up for sale.
He took over in 2018, securing one of only three stand-alone bar liquor licenses in Carmel – a type 48 license that doesn't require food service and hasn't been issued by the state in over a decade.
The 400-square-foot watering hole draws shoulder-to-shoulder crowds most nights, with patrons spilling into the street after 9pm
While the bar is profitable and culturally entrenched, Logan says his landlords – who purchased the building for $8 million in 2018 – have refused to negotiate a long-term lease.
Instead, he claims, they plan to replace Sade's with a 'high-end cocktail lounge' run by another tenant.
'They told me they think they can do a better job for the community,' Logan said.
'They're completely, utterly out of touch. They don't live here. People gasp when they get their tabs at my bar – it's affordable. It's a place for down-to-earth people to come, and that's what they want to erase.'
'This is not a place for Jäger bombs or green tea shots,' he added. 'We make simple drinks for complicated people.'
Community backlash has been swift. Locals have flooded Facebook, Nextdoor and Logan's own Instagram with outrage, pledging support and decrying what they see as a push to swap authenticity for curated luxury.
Even though Sade's is packed most nights, Logan says that won't be enough to cover the legal bills, relocation expenses and licensing costs he now faces.
'I'm not just losing my lease,' he said. 'I'm actually losing my bar. It has to stay in the location and I'll have to rebuild a new one – and there'll be legal fees and licensing fees and downtime that will not only affect me but my employees, one who has worked with me for 15 years.'
To help offset those costs, Logan has launched a GoFundMe to support the fight to keep Sade's alive and cover the expense of relocating if it comes to that.
His landlords, however, say the situation is more complex. Maria Martinez told Daily Mail that they had been open to renewing the lease until Logan began 'calling every newspaper that he could get and creating a lot of noise'.
'At that point in time, we stopped negotiating with him,' she said, noting that while Logan has always paid on time, the relationship became strained.
'We helped him during the pandemic and didn't charge rent for months. But eventually, he started telling us we were charging too much and suggested we do market research. That's when we began talking to others.'
Martinez also pushed back on Logan's financial claims, adding, 'It's a cash bar, so we have no way to even know what he makes or doesn't make. We can't challenge him - we just have to take his word for it.'
She also said they've had serious interest in the space from other tenants for years and are now in advanced discussions, although no deal has been finalized.
'We love Carmel. Our commitment is to the community,' she added. 'We don't consider it just a business. We're still listening to feedback and trying to decide what's best for the town.'
One possibility Logan is exploring is moving into the space occupied by Barmel, another longtime Carmel bar now in its own landlord dispute.
Barmel, owned by restaurateur Gabe Georis, sits a block south on San Carlos Street in the Carmel Square complex and is attached to the Barmel Supper Club.
Georis – whose family has deep roots in Carmel dining, including the beloved La Bicyclette – took over the bar space in 2013 after operating a Spanish restaurant next door.
Georis told Daily Mail he was in a battle with his landlord.
'I got a very friendly email right before Christmas, stating that she was working on a new lease, and then in January, she sent me an email letting me know she no longer wanted me as a tenant.
'This was a total surprise. I agreed to work on an exit strategy that involved selling the bar.
'I listed the bar and found a buyer and was in escrow and then the landlord refused to talk to the new prospective buyer, putting an end to my sale.
'At the same time, she started sending me notices of default to try and force me out, however, these notices were based on activities we had been carrying on with her knowledge for over 10 years.
'One example is telling me that bar customers are not allowed to use the communal bathrooms, something that is clearly spelled out in my lease… So this was an about turn and seems to be a desperate grab at finding a reason to get me out.
'I have received a lot of support from the local community. Phone calls, emails, texts, and offers of support. Barmel has become synonymous with Carmel nightlife, a concept that was more of a joke than a reality at the time we opened.
'At this point, an ideal resolution would be allowing me to sell my business and move on to other projects in spaces where I'm wanted.
'I still am part owner and operate La Bicyclette restaurant in Carmel and I will focus my efforts there in the short term.'
Donald Drummond, a San Rafael attorney who is representing Carmel Square Owner Johanna White and trustees who own Carmel Square, told Monterey County Now that lease violations were the reason for the notice to vacate. He says the last prospective buyer for Barmel did not provide the necessary information to do so.
Drummond says violations included breaking city ordinances, such as 'keeping the business open past closure time, keeping more people in the premises than what was permitted by the city'.
He said that the City of Carmel has now served a notice of violation to Georis warning him that if he didn't change his business practices he could have his use permit and/or business license revoked.
The bar's use permit would most likely remain with the location, which is partly why Logan has considered it as a potential new home for Sade's.
Georis confirmed that they have discussed the idea but declined to elaborate further.
Logan admits there are 'a lot of unknown variables' and no guarantee the deal could happen.
'I've been here 30 years. It's been my favorite bar since the day I walked in,' Logan said.
'If Sade's closes for good, it would be heartbreaking – sadder than losing your dog. And it would be a real blow to the community.'