By JULIANNE HOMOKAY
Special to the Alpine Mountaineer
The Black Dog Social Club in Green Valley Lake has headed into a new era.
Founded by Roxanne Dean and Brad Runsick in 2020, the Black Dog Shoppe has long been a gem centering this small community. Shortly after they opened the Shoppe, they added on the Black Dog Social Club next door to satisfy their dream of running a music venue, and to offer an entertainment option and gathering place to the tiny mountain hamlet.
In 2024, as will happen in life, Runsick was offered a job he couldn’t refuse, so the couple made their way up to northern California. Enter Bergen Moore.
Black Dog Shoppe.
If you reside in Green Valley Lake, you’ve probably seen Moore working on his box in the Community Garden, or calling the square dances the town used to hold at the clubhouse next to the Green Valley Mutual Water Company office. If you’re a resident of the mountain in general, you may have heard him playing pedal steel in former local bands Deep Creek or Neil Bradley and the Black Doggs. His latest role? Proprietor of the Black Dog Shoppe and Social Club, where he’s building off of what Dean and Runsick so lovingly began.
“I’m only doing this because I wanted to get coffee,” Moore quipped. He has been roasting his own beans for a few years now, forming his hobby into a company, Bergheim Coffee, and initially running a coffee shop out of his house during the Green Valley Lake Artisan Tours. One of his first orders of business as proprietor was to feature Bergheim Coffee as a pop-up business within the Shoppe. If you frequent the Shoppe, you’ve probably noticed how Moore has rearranged the space and added seating to create a funky coffee shop vibe.
Another change is the bar he built out in the center between the Shoppe and the Social Club as he capitalized on the beer and wine license Dean and Runsick had been waiting on. He favors serving local products, carrying three Lake Arrowhead Brewing Company beer selections and Sycamore Ranch wine.
So what are his next plans for the Black Dog endeavor? “Right now the focus is to pull together this outpost in GVL…make it sustainable into the future.” The vision includes securing the venue as a gathering space for the town, especially since the Water Company closed the clubhouse to the public. He would like to add a commercial kitchen and food service, an aspect that was part of Dean and Runsick’s original vision as well. He would like to continue to offer quality live music programming and expand seating on the Social Club side. Ultimately, Moore would like “to find a financial strategy where we can build something that will make it through multiple recessions or slow seasons.”
If you spend five minutes with Moore, you’ll have no doubt he’ll find a way to pull this off. “I like complex problems.”
Black Dog Shoppe featuring Bergheim Coffee is open every morning from 8-11 a.m. The live music schedule varies; visit blackdogsocialclub.com or https://gvl.life for up-to-the-moment details.
0 Comments