From Rearview Mirror to Vallarta Nights at the Social Club

Did you get your copy of the Rearview Mirror this morning at 7? If you are scratching your head or don’t know what the hell that is, I’ll tell you! Besides this column, Vallarta Mirror’s content is contributed by a number of writers who cover a wide range of topics, including deep sea fishing, herbal remedies, tropical plantings, spirituality, and more, all of which are added daily. The Rearview Mirror takes those weekly articles into a bundle and ships them off every Friday morning to your inbox, like a newspaper or magazine, so you can start your weekend off right. There is no charge, and subscribing is as easy as clicking on this.

Yesterday I had the pleasure of sitting down in an old, old Vallarta house a block or so up from the river and chatted with Bryan Stocks, his husband, Roger Allen, and their dog. The dog said little as he was recovering from a health issue, but he was loving and kind to this dedicated cat person.

This couple has lived in Vallarta for eight years and has already made so many contributions to our community, starting with their latest venture, which is where we sat and talked for an hour – The Vallarta Social Club, a fascinating bar from top to bottom.

Oddly enough, some of their friends from the US comment how ”New York” the place is but, with the exception of a few chairs from Guadalajara, everything on the walls and the floor came from Vallarta, and a lot of it from Elizabeth Taylor’s estate, including relics from Night of the Iguana that she was not in but was certainly around for the filming of it back in the early 60s.

Roger hopes to mark those special items with brass plaques one day. Vallarta’s recent history may not be old, but it is certainly colorful and newsworthy!

Within two weeks of their arrival in Vallarta, Roger and Bryan bought Bar Anonimo, and after that, they opened the upscale One Six One bar next door on Rodolfo Gomez with their new friend, who I have not yet met, Brian Kent. These three new friends also opened a breakfast place on Amapas across from the Tropicana Hotel called The Porch Cafe. When the vacant (for decades) building housing Vallarta’s only speakeasy became available, Bryan and Roger opened the Tunnel Bar first, partnering with Tamale and Sugarbaker, which opened in March 2023, then added The Brick Oven pizza place in May of this year. The Social Club has been wowing the populace since November 2024. What shenanigans are planned for their first anniversary, that’s quickly coming up?

With jazz being the basis around which the entertainment swings at the Social Club, there will be some very cool additions this coming Season. As owner, Roger Allen says, ”Where jazz meets the circus!” Stay tuned for more.

I am meeting Mitchell Rivadeneyra for mango smoothies and finding out all kinds of goodies from this shapeshifting magnet of an entertainer. See you back here Monday morning, From Here.