Bar patrons buy 50-inch TV

Most bar regulars will tell you that it's not so much the decor of a place that makes a favorite watering hole a second home; instead, it's the friends you make.

The patrons of Stinky Mulligan's, the sports bar and grill on Combie Road in southern Nevada County, love their home-away-from home so much that they bought the owner a 50-inch plasma television.

Owner Stefanie Geckler, who celebrated five years in business on Friday, got the surprise on Thursday when some of the regulars installed the TV before she arrived, lured by a ruse.

"They all went way, way overboard, but it was so heartfelt and so amazing," Geckler said.

"All the patrons pitched in," echoed head cook and kitchen manager Rebecca McGuire. "We adore Stefanie. She's an awesome lady."

Three of the patrons thought up the scheme, McGuire said. Within three weeks, they had raised about $1,600, bought the set and installed it, McGuire said.

When all was ready, McGuire called Geckler.

"She said, 'You've got to get down here now! The bartender slipped and broke her ankle, and the place is packed,'" Geckler recalled. "I was just getting out of the shower, wet hair, looked awful. I got down there, and they all yelled 'Happy anniversary!' I was bawling like a baby."

The bar already has six televisions, but none are high definition, flat screen, plasma prizes, Geckler said.

"None of the regulars would ever say anything, but other people would come in and say, 'Why don't you have flat-screen TVs?' And I'd say, 'I'm working on it really hard.'"

Geckler figured her regulars took such remarks personally, she said.

Geckler grew up in Lake of the Pines and was in the first class to graduate from Bear River High School. She left for Los Angeles after graduation for a career in the entertainment industry, and returned five years ago.

Running a bar "was a totally brand-new venture. It was me walking into it blind and finding my way through as things came at me, and it just kind of worked out," said Geckler, now 38. "I wanted to be close to home. It feels great."

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To contact City Editor Trina Kleist, e-mail tkleist@theunion.com or call 477-4230.