John Sparr Tavern owners Rick Powell and Dave Fink are ex-Disney Imagineers who have lived in Glendale for the past 30 years. But it was their upstate New York roots that brought about the idea to build an East coast neighborhood tavern in Glendale, California. There are few memories of his youth more pleasant to Rick than those he shared at Blessings Tavern, in Colonie, New York, where he and his grandfather would meet to enjoy great American comfort food, good drinks, and lasting friendship. While Dave too had his first draught beer at Blessing’s Tavern, his more recent discovery of Bender’s Tavern in Canton, Ohio was the inspiration for many elements of John Sparr Tavern’s design. The floor-to-ceiling marble walls, mosaic tile floors, tin ceilings and even the neon “Good Food” sign out front are “borrowed” from Bender’s.
