Gaslamp Liquor Closed
Thursday, August 12, 2004, 5:05 —by Joe Crawford
Oh man, Gaslamp Liquor got torn down to make way for more downtown condos.
When I worked at AVENCOM, a web agency located at 9th & G, I used to frequent Gaslamp Liquor & Delicatessen for little powdered doughnuts, sodas, sno-balls, and occasionally, Guinness. It had character to spare, and the women who made the sandwiches were pretty cool. I remember the tuna salad well.
I guess there’s still the Cheese Shop for deli sandwiches.
13 Aug: More photos
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M. Hemmingson said on Thursday, August 12, 2004, 15:57
Long time ago, years ago, across from Gaslmap was a Roberto’s, which was really a fence for stolen goods, and an area to buy crack cocaine. Same with Gaslamp Liquor, which at one time supplied the street dealers. This was a different, more crime-filled downtown. Well, there’s still plenty of crime, Russian mob and the dirty “payoff” dealings of Cafe Bassam, but it’s all on the QT now.
How much mob involvement you think is going on in all those condos being built?
Sassy said on Thursday, August 12, 2004, 21:00
You could by crack on 9th and market up until about 3 years ago. When I moved onto the block, all the ‘gaslamp-style’ lamps on the block were broken, and the place was a hotbed of drug dealing. The telephone at “The ‘Lamp” was the perfect spot to hook up a deal in the parking lots on 9th. After a week on the block I had the city out to turn on the lamps and was calling the cops on a nightly basis.
Gaslamp liquor was a shithole that repeatedly sold alchohol to drunks. On one occasion I was lucky enough to be followed out the door by a patron and have a bottle thrown at me. Although I managed to develop a decent rapport with some of the clerks, the fact remains that the place was a blight. And their sandwiches were freakin’ nasty. Good riddance!
Sandy Yago said on Saturday, September 11, 2004, 23:27
I’m curious to know more about the “dirty dealings of Cafe Bassam”. I actually thought that it was slated for demolition for a new hotel but maybe I’m mistaken.
Giggles said on Tuesday, September 28, 2004, 1:09
I’ve seen a few men working late at night on the condos