Bases Loaded Adds Juke Box, Pinball, Pool Tables


By Ray Faulkenberry

I have known the owner of the Bases Loaded Restaurant Bar since I was in 7th grade. Terry Karp is his name and let me tell you a little about Terry. He was a stellar three-sport athlete, excelling in football, basketball and baseball.

Terry Karp

More than that, Terry was and is a genuinely nice guy. I can honestly say that playing the same three sports there weren’t a lot of nice guys – at least not like Terry. Although Terry and I weren’t great friends in high school as we ran around with different people, I always enjoyed him on every team I ever played.

When I heard that Terry would be opening up the restaurant, I grew excited that not only somebody I knew was opening a restaurant, but the fact that it was a sports bar and restaurant made it that much better. Although Terry opened up in August of 2009, it hasn’t always been smooth sailing.
“We struggle like any other business, but we’ve developed a good, core group of people who like the food, the music and the atmosphere,” Terry said.

Terry is not one to rest on his laurels. He spent countless hours planning, designing and doing the necessary paperwork with the city to realize his dream. He received a restaurant incentive grant, which gave him $300,000 to help with the creation of the restaurant. While that grant helped a lot, Terry has spent lots of his own as well as his family’s money to make Bases Loaded the incredible place that it is.

“We didn’t have a design like a McDonald’s or a Burger King in which you could just go in and cookie-cut the place out,” he said. “I had to go through a lot of meetings to get city approvals, use permits, inspections and such. It’s taken a lot of work.”

He recently put in an ultra-modern juke box, an “old-school” pinball machine and a couple of pool tables. Although I liked Bases Loaded the way that it was, this new version has a more vibrant atmosphere. It feels even more alive and interactive. “They’ve been a big hit, as people like to listen to the music of their choosing, and playing pool and pinball is something so many people like to do,” said Terry.

Terry is even considering incorporating video games that could be played by the family on one of his many large screens.

Terry has one of the largest dance floors in the area and he brings in some incredible musicians on the weekend that cover a wide range of music. You can hear dance music from the ’70s, ’80s and ’90s that make it very easy to get up and dance to. I know that the last time I danced was at Terry’s place while listening to a wonderful cover band that played the music I listened to in high school – and yes, it was the disco era! Bases Loaded will also be featuring a Country Western Night starting in the new year.

It is not easy in this economy to launch any new business, and restaurants are not easy in any economy! It took great courage to undertake this project, and it’s been a lot more work than Terry anticipated. However, knowing Terry the way that I do, I can tell you without asking him that when it became more work than he thought, he rolled up his sleeves, got creative and began pushing harder to achieve the success he wanted.

I believe in this day and time that it is vitally important to get out and support our local businesses. It has to do with sharing ourselves and supporting the business in our community. How we evolve, grow, and prosper in business AND life is to get out and interact with the world. We share ideas and support the dreams of our friends. We encourage them to improve as we also look to also improve.

If you are a fan of sports, come down and spend some time with Terry. Try some of his killer nachos. Tell him I sent you. You can even make him feel good by saying you forgive him (and me) for going to a rival high school in Concord – Clayton Valley.

Bases Loaded is located at 400 G Street in downtown Antioch and it’s open on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m., Friday from 4 p.m. to 1 a.m., Saturday from noon to 1 a.m., and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Ray Faulkenberry, Ph.D. is a business analyst, consultant, author, coach, and entrepreneur. Log onto his website through 2011 and receive his books on success, leadership, and transformation for free. He can be reached at www.rayfaulkenberry.com or rayfaulkenberry@comcast.net.


the attachments to this post:


Bases Terry Karp


Bases Exterior


Bases Crowd


Bases Band


No Comments so far.

Leave a Reply