Dexter: Original Sin Filming Locations: Ernie's Taproom
The
location: Ernie's Taproom
Q.
What is it supposed to be on the show?
A. A bar and pool room.
Q.
Where is it supposed to be on the show?
A. In or near Miami, Florida.
Q.
When did we see it on the show?
A. We see the location in Episode 3, of Season 1.
When loan shark “Handsome Tony” Ferrar lends Dexter $500 at the Jai-alai court, he tells him that the first payment is due on Friday, at 8:00 PM, at Ernie's Taproom.
In this scene, we see Dexter playing pool at Ernie's Taproom, when “Handsome Tony” comes to collect his money.
Tony isn't
pleased when he sees that Dexter appears to have lost his money playing
pool.
Flashing a gun, he forces Dexter out the back door into an alley.
( But when
Dexter and Tony step out of the pool room and into the alley, the
producers pull a fast one on the audience. We are supposed to believe
that the alley is directly behind the pool room, but that alley scene
was actually shot miles away in another location. )
Q.
What is it actually in real life?
A. A bar and pool room, but nowhere near Miami.
Q.
Where can I find it in real life?
A. This pool scene was filmed at a legendary dive bar in Long Beach called Joe Jost.
You'll find it at 2803 E. Anaheim Street, in Long Beach, CA.
Joe Jost is a local institution in Long Beach. As the oldest tavern in
Long Beach, it was established in 1924, almost a decade before
Prohibition began.
Besides cold beer, Joe's also sells Special Polish sausage sandwiches,
freshly roasted peanuts, and their famous pickled eggs. (After a century
in business,
they estimate they've sold 6 million pickled eggs.)
It's more like a pub, insofar as its family-friendly. They won't serve kids beer, of course, but they will serve them a mug of root beer. ( Read more about it in this LA Times article. )
Q. How the heck did you figure out where it was?
A. Joe Jost’s has
appeared in a number of Hollywood productions, including 1981’s “True
Confessions”, 1992’s “The Bodyguard”, 2000’s “Gone in 60 Seconds”,
2007’s “License To Wed” and TV’s original “Roswell”. And now you can add “Dexter: Original Sin” to that list.
With its walls covered in photos, and that framed Busch Bavarian sign, it's not hard to recognize.
And given the age of
Joe's, they didn't have to change much to make it look like 1991. They
just removed the flat-screen TVs, and changed the name on the overhead
pool table lights to read “Ernie's Taproom”.
Here is a matching view of the pool room at Joe Jost:
