Rustic biker bar near Santa Clarita asking $449K

The Big Oaks Lodge is tucked nearly five miles into the Angeles National Forest, a bar-restaurant-retreat that’s served as an oasis for bikers, boxers, and the Hollywood elite for almost a century. Now Big Oaks looks to write a new chapter in its already varied history.

The Big Oaks Lodge has just hit the market, asking $449,000. The property’s 3,000 square feet of space includes a bar with a complete kitchen, a patio kitchen with grill and pizza oven, and three rental units on site. The buyer would also acquire the lodge’s Type 47 liquor license and catering license.

Built in the 1920s as a rest stop for traveling stagecoaches, Big Oaks Lodge was a favorite of famed gangster “Pretty Boy” Floyd, actor W.C Fields, and Hollywood’s original power couple, Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks.

By the 1980s, things were a little rough and tumble at the Big Oaks Lodge. Afternoons were all about boxers and bikers, with motorcyclists guzzling brews at the bar, watching aspiring fighters train outside. No bouncers were needed, according to the bartender at the time, as he had a loaded shotgun and a German shepherd named Dukers to ward off trouble. Motorcycles would gradually disappear from the parking lot as the day waned, replaced with the cars of diners in search of classic American cooking.

For the next few decades, Big Oaks Lodge would continue to serve its biker and diner clientele, with the occasional film and TV shoot (Beverly Hills 90210, Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines) adding a bit of Hollywood.

Update: A previous version of this article named Diana White as the owner of the Big Oaks Lodge, but realtor Brett Alphin tells Curbed that White sold the bar in 2011. He says the current owners are selling because they live too far away to keep up with the demands of the business.

• 33101 Bouquet Canyon Rd [Brett Alphin/John Aaroe Group]
• BIKER BAR TO THE CHAMPIONS : In a Leafy Glade, Men of Iron Fists Find Quiet Haven [LA Times]
• Road closure means big loss for Big Oaks Lodge [Santa Clarita Valley Signal]