Mucky Duck becomes Bull and Bear to improve image in the new year

A notorious night spot it getting rid of its bad reputation by changing its name and turning a new leaf. That’s what a Monterey hot spot said it’s preparing to do, as we enter 2015. On Tuesday night, NewsChannel 5 found out how the owners of The Mucky Duck are planning to change the name to Bull and Bear Whiskey Bar and Taphouse starting New Year’s Day. The owners said it’s the image they’d always planned on creating, as they try to move beyond a violent past.

“You know this address being Round Table Pizza, the Rose and Crown, then being The Mucky Duck for almost 25 years. You know its got it’s own history as a restaurant location,” said owner Anthony Buich.

Buich is referring to a 2011 shooting at The Mucky Duck. That was a situation Buich said he walked into when he and his brother bought the restaurant from its previous owners. The city shut the place down and Buich said they spent a lot of money to get it back open.

“Wanted to change the name when I first got here but without having the money to do it, we just figured, you know, let’s open the doors limping, let’s just get into a walking and then into a jog. So we consider ourselves at a nice jog right now,” Buich said.

Buich said the previous owners racked up about 400 police calls for service a year, which he’s worked to reduce. But his restaurant is still under a microscope. Earlier this month, Buich said the city evaluated police calls over the past seven months, totaling 26 calls, leading to 11 arrests. But Buich said some of those were calls made by responsible restaurant employees to remove unwanted patrons.

Now the city is proposing a plan to cut off serving alcohol an hour earlier. That’s something he plans to fight.

“Unfortunately there are a lot of people that just can’t seem to get over you know the past with the name, you know The Mucky Duck. It was hard and very frustrating over the last almost four years,” Buich said.

He’s also hoping the new Bull and Bear name, paying homage to the city’s history, will pave the way for better future. Buich said they plan to hold a larger grand re-opening in February. We’ve reached out to the City of Monterey for more information on the restrictions but haven’t heard back yet.