The Casburns, 22-year Altadena residents, have created the pub experience they’ve always wanted — and it’s only four blocks from home.
“We like to call it the neighborhood pub,” says Gail. Judah chimes in: “Not just Altadena, but people in Pasadena consider it their neighborhood pub … [Customers] actually thank us and shake us by the hand for that very reason. So it is very much a local spot.”
Pictured: Gail and Judah Casburn
Originally from Yorkshire, England — “which is where the best beer comes from, but you can’t bring it here” — Judah moved to California to “get away from the bloody rain.” He and Gail have been married for 23 years. They became interested in running a pub in the early 1990’s because, Judah says, “there was nowhere in the Pasadena area where you could enjoy a pint of good beer or wine at a reasonable price.”
What’s the difference between a pub and a bar? “A pub is a place for social intercourse, instead of a place for getting blasted, getting [drunk] ,” Judah says. He compared it to the bars in Old Town Pasadena, which are sports bars, have big TVs, and are very loud and not conducive to conversation.
The Casburns purchased a Pasadena deli and sandwich shop with a beer and wine license — Lucky Baldwins — and turned it into nighttime pub. It enjoyed considerable success, but they ended up selling it to one of their bartenders sometime later.
“The city of Pasadena was impossible to deal with,” Gail says. “And, with two young kids, it’s difficult to raise a family and be away in the evenings.” Judah affirmed that “we decided our kids were the priority,” but also says, before the indoor smoking ban, “the smoke was making me ill, it was really getting to me.”
Pictured: The Ale & Wine House also offers an extensive wine selection.
After selling Lucky Baldwins, Judah spent some years buying, selling, and renovating British sports cars. (“I’ve always been working on old cars, old houses,” Judah says. “We have a home in the south of France we’re restoring.”) Gail still keeps a day job teaching math and computer science at Baldwin Park High School.
But as their sons, Gareth and Owen, grew older, the Casburns wanted to find a place where they could create a new pub and put to work Judah’s expertise with beer and Gail’s with French wine. A ranchero bar on Fair Oaks went on the market, not far from where they live, and the Altadena Ale & Wine House was born.
May 1 marks the first birthday for the Altadena Ale & Wine House, and the fulfillment of a dream for Gail and Judah Casburn.
The Casburns, 22-year Altadena residents, have created the pub experience they’ve always wanted — and it’s only four blocks from home.
Pictured: Gail and Judah Casburn
Originally from Yorkshire, England — “which is where the best beer comes from, but you can’t bring it here” — Judah moved to California to “get away from the bloody rain.” He and Gail have been married for 23 years. They became interested in running a pub in the early 1990’s because, Judah says, “there was nowhere in the Pasadena area where you could enjoy a pint of good beer or wine at a reasonable price.”
What’s the difference between a pub and a bar? “A pub is a place for social intercourse, instead of a place for getting blasted, getting [drunk] ,” Judah says. He compared it to the bars in Old Town Pasadena, which are sports bars, have big TVs, and are very loud and not conducive to conversation.
The Casburns purchased a Pasadena deli and sandwich shop with a beer and wine license — Lucky Baldwins — and turned it into nighttime pub. It enjoyed considerable success, but they ended up selling it to one of their bartenders sometime later.
Pictured: The Ale & Wine House also offers an extensive wine selection.
After selling Lucky Baldwins, Judah spent some years buying, selling, and renovating British sports cars. (“I’ve always been working on old cars, old houses,” Judah says. “We have a home in the south of France we’re restoring.”) Gail still keeps a day job teaching math and computer science at Baldwin Park High School.
But as their sons, Gareth and Owen, grew older, the Casburns wanted to find a place where they could create a new pub and put to work Judah’s expertise with beer and Gail’s with French wine. A ranchero bar on Fair Oaks went on the market, not far from where they live, and the Altadena Ale & Wine House was born.