By LANCE ARMSTRONG

Clair “Brownie” Brown, owner of Brownie’s Lounge in the South Hills Shopping Center, said that the business will change ownership for the first time, after serving customers for more than 30 years.

The bar will cease operation under Brown’s ownership at the end of this month, and will eventually be reopened by its new owners under the same business name. The sale of the business is currently in escrow, Brown said.

Brown, who turned 85 last week, described the situation that led to his decision to sell this bar space at 5858 South Land Park Drive.

“I had to close up, because I lost my lease,” he said. “It’s that simple. It came as a shock to me. (The landlords) would not let me stay there. They made that perfectly clear when they came down from San Francisco (about four months ago). Strictly plain, they would lease it to somebody else, but not to me.”

Brown added that he was not given a reason why his lease will not be renewed and he noted that he will be leaving Brownie’s as a financially stable business operation.

“I don’t owe bills or anything else,” he said.

Despite the success of this business, Brown said that it did not make sense for him to relocate it to a different location.

“It would cost me $150,000 to move to some other location,” he said. “At my age, it wouldn’t be worth doing. And I would never get my money back that way.”

Although Brown noted that he would have continued to operate Brownie’s indefinitely if his lease had been renewed, he has maintained a positive attitude about selling the business.

“I had a good run while I was there,” he said.

Brown opened Brownie’s Lounge at its current and only location in 1985, after operating the Gas Lamp bar at 4450 24th St., across the street from Panama Pottery, for about 20 years.

Brown’s career in the bar business also includes working at The Stable, a pizza and beer business that operated at 4563 Freeport Blvd. He was hired to work for that establishment in about 1955, while he was attending Sacramento Junior College – now Sacramento City College.

About three years later, Brown began working at The Captain’s Table, a cocktail lounge that was located at 4350 Riverside Blvd., in the area where Scott’s Seafood Grill and Bar is now located.

Prior to owning the Gas Lamp, in about 1961, Brown acquired employment at that business through its owner, Bob Burns.

In operating Brownie’s, Brown has not made it a mystery that he is a man who is very proud of his Irish heritage.

Born was born in Yuba City to his Irish-American mother, Hazel Estelle (Drennen) Brown, and his father Leo Brown, who worked in the turkey processing industry.

Reminders of Brown’s heritage are evident in the business’s interior. It has a very Irish theme, as many of its features are decorated in green – the symbolic color of St. Patrick’s Day.

Brownie’s patrons have been arriving at this establishment on an annual basis for its St. Patrick’s Day gatherings, which include corned beef and cabbage and live, Irish musical entertainment.

Corned beef and cabbage is also a weekly tradition at Brownie’s, as this fare is offered every Thursday.

Brown said that he has cooked more than 300,000 pounds of corned beef during his time at Brownie’s and the Gas Lamp.

With its on-site kitchen, Brownie’s also serves other menu items, including rib-eye steak, cheeseburgers, sausage and kraut, ribs, prawn cocktails, sandwiches and salads.

As for Brownie’s St. Patrick’s Day event, proceeds from this gathering, with the exception of the bar’s earnings, have been traditionally presented to a charity of Brown’s choice.

For instance, in 2008, the event raised funds for the medical expenses of Hayden Gomez, a local boy who was fighting a battle against leukemia.

Brown’s celebration of his Irish heritage also includes co-founding the Honourable Guild of St. Patrick’s Day Mummers’ annual evening parade in downtown Sacramento. He also participated in the parade from 1960 to 1997.

In 1977, the Mummers selected Brown as that year’s Sacramento “Irishman of the Year.”

During the same year, he marched in a St. Patrick’s Day parade in Dublin.

Brown has continued to be heavily involved in the operation of his business, where he still heads to work seven days a week in his red Chevy Camaro, which he bought new in 1965.

While reminiscing about his many years operating Brownie’s, Brown expressed an overall satisfaction with that experience.

“I was very lucky,” he said. “It was very good. Customers were very gracious to me all those years. I had some ups and downs in certain things, but other than that it’s been great.”