Cotati’s historic tavern 8 Ball is soft-launching Saturday under new management: a woman-led team ready to bring good times to the neighborhood bar.
In January, Julie LaMalfa Black, Jenafer Keys and Audrey De Vere Hunt announced they had acquired the tavern, making it a woman-led and -owned business. Their official slogan for the soft opening is “The girls are calling the shots.”
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Bartender Julie Black, left, worked at the nearly 90-year-old 8 Ball in Cotati for the past 8 years before buying the bar with two friends Thursday, Feb. 26, 2026. (John Burgess/The Press Democrat)
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Bartender Julie Black, left, worked at the nearly 90-year-old 8 Ball in Cotati for the past 8 years before buying the bar with two friends Thursday, Feb. 26, 2026. (John Burgess/The Press Democrat)
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The 89-year-old tavern has long garnered local regulars and even generated interest thanks to multiple urban legends around its history, including that it allegedly got its name from an old, battered eight ball supposedly found in the rafters of a building on the property. Former owner Howard Jacobsen, a builder by trade, and his wife ran the tavern for decades and sold it in the early 1950s.
RELATED: Dive into 8 Ball tavern’s eclectic history in Cotati
The bar has since changed hands multiple times, including in 2018 to Brian Tatko and Greg Johnson. They made minor modifications, including new floors and some structural improvements. The old building still has irregularly-sized doors and a low ceiling, which have hung on. The pair then sold to Alan Troxel, who ran the bar for a year.
Black, originally from Ukiah, has been a familiar face at the bar for eight years and a local for decades, and garnered a following in the loyal community.
“Alan wanted to sell, and the three of us girls hit him up for it,” Black said. She said she wanted to own the bar because of “The history, the area and the locals. I’ve been here through two owners and built up a really good customer base.”
The team has known each other for more than a decade, with Black and De Vere Hunt having more than 30 years of bartending experience between them from San Francisco, Petaluma and Cotati.
De Vere Hunt said that they don’t plan to make big changes to the historic bar.
“It takes a long time for a bar to look the way this one does,” she said. “We’re not really going to change much. We loved everything they (Tatko and Johnson) did to change the bar more into a community space. It just needed a little facelift and some love.”
The team plans to continue offering karaoke on Mondays and open mic nights Tuesdays. They also hope to host rotating food trucks at the site Thursdays through Saturdays to partner with and support local cooks.
De Vere Hunt also wants to again participate in the Cotati Crawl, which has slowed down in recent years: “We’re ready to bring that back. We want to work together with our community to make sure it’s safe. It’s been an amazing response we’ve gotten from people.”
RELATED: The Cotati Crawl: Cotati’s wildest, weirdest tradition
De Vere Hunt said she is thrilled to take on the business with her partners.
“I’ve been working with them for over a decade, and I love them incredibly and trust them completely,” she said. “Julie’s the face of the bar and she’s so well-loved by all of the people that come in. Jen is super skilled at being able to crunch numbers and make things make sense. She’s been the hero of the last week as we’ve been setting up.”
De Vere Hunt is also excited to be part of an all-woman team of business owners, saying “Women have to go first, it’s always like that.” She said the team has gotten lots of good advice about running a bar from local figures, such as the owners of Willowbrook Ale House and Gale’s Central Club in Petaluma.
“They were so happy for me and they’ve been so helpful,” De Vere Hunt said. “Old-timers have been so supportive of a locally owned bar.”
Landlord Debbie Blankenship said she supports the new owners’ commitment to bringing back events that reinvigorated the bar. During their ownership, Tatko and Johnson made an effort to shake the “drug-and-biker bar” persona 8 Ball once had with locals. They began hosting a weekly DJ during the Cotati Crawl on Thursdays and holding special events like mock “graduations” for Sonoma State University students. These ideas made the tavern once again a go-to spot, alongside the downtown favorites Spancky’s and the Tradewinds.
Blankenship’s family has owned the building since 1972, through multiple owners. She and her sister Gail Blankenship inherited the land as landlords from their parents five years ago.
“My parents ran it until they passed,” Blankenship said. She said of the new owners, “I’m very happy. Their personalities are just fantastic and they’re really wanting to bring back the old times again.
“Since these ladies took over, the bar has been packed again,” Blankenship added.
Resident Eric Kinsman, who was at the bar being served by Black, said he’s been a regular for years and is excited about the new ownership.
“I’ve known Julie for 20 years,” he said. “She’s got a great following, and when she’s here the community comes, everyone comes to hang out here together.
“They’ve brought back a better feeling to the community. It’s tough owning a bar, man, but they’re doing it and they’re killing it so far.”
The bar’s grand opening begins at noon Saturday at 8 Charles Street and lasts into the evening. Grill 707 will be onsite serving a special menu, including burgers and sandwiches.
Black said she is very grateful to local vendors including Southern Glazer’s Wine and Spirits, Golden Brands and Lightning Spirits LLC: “They came through to help us out, bringing us the product.”
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