The Oral History of the Mos Eisley Cantina, Part 1

(Ed Note: For whatever the reason oral history's have been in vogue lately. The new Grantland site did an oral history not to long after it launched. SI did an oral history on the movie Major League. I also saw an oral history on Michael Bay. So with that I decided to do an oral history on the Mos Eisley Cantina. This is part 1 of a 3 part series. As with my other Mos Eisley Adventures stories, everyone will be given a code name to protect their identities.)

The Mos Eisley Cantina is a small bar near Sierra Community College in Rocklin, California about twenty miles to the east of Sacramento off of highway 80. The bar is owned and operated by a 40-something man named Boz. The usual inhabitants of the bar besides myself and the Boz are the Colonel, the Bandit, along with Grandpa, Senior & Junior, and the motorcycle gang that consists of Ace, Johnny, and Red. These are the people who make the Mos Eisley Cantina what it is today. This is their story and how they discovered the Mos Eisley Cantina and why they keep coming back.

I. "I wanted to create a 'Cheers' type of environment, where everyone is friendly and the booze is cold."-Boz 

Boz (Bar owner & operator): I grew up in the Sacramento area, specifically in West Sacramento. I was an diesel mechanic for about 15 years working on big rigs for a mechanic shop in Rocklin. I would frequent the Mos Eisley Cantina myself before I was the owner. I always loved the place. The wood bar with wood stools. It had a certain charm to it. Like I was sitting in an Old West saloon.

Mrs. Boz (Wife, Co-owner): Oh the Boz. He was never happy as an mechanic. He kept talking about how he wanted to buy a bar himself. I thought he finally lost his mind. And then it happened. The owners of the Mos Eisley Cantina put the bar up for sale eleven years ago. I just know the Boz couldn't pass up the opportunity to buy the place. It was his dream to own a bar and he always loved the Mos Eisley Cantina. I knew I couldn't stand in his way.

Boz: As soon as I heard the Mos Eisley Cantina was put up for sale, I immediately went to Bank of America to get a loan. I knew I had good credit and the money to make the down payment so I was confident the bank would give me the loan. Once I told them about my business plan and how I was going to repay the loan. And I was approved!

Mrs. Boz: The best part of the deal is the former owners just wanted to get rid of the place so we bought the bar on a discount. The Boz wanted to make some repairs to the place, so the Mos Eisley Cantina didn't re-open until New Year's Eve, 2001.

Boz: The grand opening on New Year's Eve was better than expected. The place was filled to the brim with everyone drinking champagne. We haven't looked back since.


The Colonel graduated from Virginia Law School in 2005. He worked for a year in Seattle before returning home to the Central Valley to work at a law firm in Sacramento. The Colonel currently lives in Granite Bay and is a frequent patron of the Mos Eisley Cantina.

II: "I knew this was my kind of place the time Boz had a dollar beer night."-The Colonel 

The Colonel (Lawyer & Ottoman Empire Historian): When I returned to the Central Valley I was looking for a bar to sit and relax in after work. I visited the bars in Old Sacramento. I went to the sports bar Bunz & Company in Roseville. None of them had the type of environment I was looking for. That was until I found the Mos Eisley Cantina.

Boz: I believe the first time the Colonel visited the bar he was actually with a client who had heard about my pulled pork sandwiches.

The Colonel: I was representing this old man in a workplace injury case. We were suppose to meet at a fancy restaurant that my firm set up. The old man canceled and told me to meet him at the Mos Eisley Cantina in Rocklin because he had heard the pulled pork sandwiches are delicious. 

Boz: Full disclosure, I loved that old man. He brought me a loyal client like the Colonel and ran up quite the tab on the Colonel's firm credit card.

The Colonel: The company has given me a company credit card to use to take clients out to eat or if I need to buy something for research. This old man though just kept ordering more and more Long Island Ice Tea's. I finally had to cut him off.

Boz: I got a client for life though in the Colonel.

The Colonel: While sitting there in the bar I loved the place. I liked the Boz and Mrs. Boz back when she was a frequent sight in the place. I loved that the bar didn't have a generic feel to it like so many other bars I been to in the area. The alcohol was cheep and the food was good. The people of the bar are the reason why I keep coming back. Love the Boz, Bandit, and 49er16. I've been coming back since 2007.