Not content to sit on the appeal of its neon sign as the only element of exterior appeal, a massive mural has been painted on the side of the building inscribed with “Dance Gavin Dance,” a reference to the rock band by the same name founded in Sacramento. Modern and classic signage aside, Flame Club itself is a red brick building on a corner lot that has been a neighborhood staple for decades with the curb appeal that fits the bill. The site sits on a lot that includes a parking area, convenient when visiting but even more important as the lot doubles as a makeshift back patio as the drinking spills out into a table or two set up near the rear of the building.
Inside, there are no-frills dive bars and then there’s Flame Club, a square box of a room that includes a long bar on one side, a few round tables in the center of the space and a shuffleboard game along the opposite wall. The bar itself has been upgraded over the years, dark wood playing against exposed brick in the form of liquor bottle shelving that dots the area behind the bar. Classic low shelving is built into the bar back, illuminated shelving completing the bar’s liquor selection.
The space here has been simplified beyond the typical dive bar clutter, a string of metal lunchboxes over the mirror behind the bar representing one of the few areas of true dive bar decoration. The occasional beer sign can be found dotting the walls throughout the space and two small TVs anchor the top corners of the wall above the bar, but this is as subdued a dive bar as you will find. Short red tables that look perfectly at home in a Sacramento dive bar offer the bulk of the seating inside, a pair of fans overhead and, crucially, a couple of wall-mounted AC units above the seating area as well.