Live Wire

History

Joe Austin and Sam Chammas, who had worked at San Diego State's KCR radio station, nicknamed "The Live Wire," opened the bar in October 1992 at El Cajon Boulevard and Alabama Street in North Park. The corner had been a neighborhood bar called the Old Timer and, just before they leased it, The Eagle. They skipped domestic bottles for craft beer and put indie bands, including Rocket From the Crypt, on a small corner stage.