Dexter is
stalking Ray Speltzer, whom he suspects of being a serial killer.
And he hopes to convince Debra (who recently discovered his dark
secret) to see things his way, when it comes to eliminating Speltzer
before he can strike again.
So he allows Debra to follow him to the bar, and when she arrives, he has already ordered her a beer.
He proceeds to make his case, pointing out Speltzer at a table nearby, hitting on a barmaid.
Dexter tells Debra that Speltzer has shaved his head, something he has always done before one of these murders took place.
But
Debra is aghast that Dexter is actually seeking permission from her to
kill someone, and she tells him so in no uncertain terms, before
leaving the bar.
Dexter, however, is determined to collect enough evidence against Speltzer to make Debra a believer. So he heads back to the cemetery to break into Speltzer's private mausoleum.
Q.
What is it actually in real life?
A. A bar.
Q.
Where can I find it in real life?
A. This is the Maui Sugar Mill Saloon, at 18389 Ventura Blvd, in Tarzana, CA.
It's located inside
a small shopping center called Tarzana Square, on the north side of
Ventura Blvd, a block east of Reseda Blvd.
For the uninitiated, Tarzana is on the west side of the San Fernando Valley, near Encino.
(And yes, it's no
coincidence that the name of the town sounds like the jungle hero
"Tarzan of the Apes". Tarzan's creator, writer Edgar Rice
Burroughs, bought a tract of land there in 1919 and named it Tarzana
Ranch. When it was later subdivided, it formed the basis of the modern
community of Tarzana.)
The photo below was shot during filming by Rick.
And here are some shots of their interior, from their webpage:
A. In the early seasons, I usually had to hunt down the locations after viewing the episodes,
using clues from the various scenes. By the now, though,
I've developed a small group of fans, spies & tipsters who kept an
eye out for Dexter filming in their neighborhoods, and would let me know
in advance when something was about to film there.
Between those reports, my own personal reconnaissance around town, and a
few new resources I discovered, by the time the first episode airs, I
already know most (but not all) of the filming locations, and only
need to watch the episodes and match up the scenes with the correct
locations.
This group of helpful fans includes Rick, Ellen, Elaine, Mia, Joel, Susan, Eric, Jeff, Kerry & others. My thanks to all of
them.
This one was easy.
Not only can you read the street number above the door, but the
employees are wearing t-shirts that read "Sugar Mill Saloon"...
But Rick tipped
me in advance to this one. Not only that, he videotaped the
location while they were shooting there. Take a look at his video (and note that they draped the front windows, to stop extraneous light from coming in during filming):
