One local bar hasn't changed much since the day it opened 37 years ago, complete with a vintage jukebox with a wide range of tunes.
“People love it because you can still listen to three songs for a dollar,” said Rea Rambo, owner of Red's Bird Cage Saloon, about the jukebox. “You name it, we have it. It has a lot of music.”
Rambo, who moved to Yuma from Germany in 1965, attributed the bar's longe
vity to the fact that it has remained the same for all these years.
“The reason why we're still here, I'd say, is because we have not changed a lot, I think the less we change, the better it is. People feel comfortable here.”
Rambo explained that her husband, Red, bought the building, located in downtown Yuma, back in 1971 and they officially opened the doors to the saloon three years later. Red named the bar after the Bird Cage Theatre in Tombstone, she said, which was once known for its wild nights and has since been turned into a museum said to be haunted by cowboys and ladies of the night. In the beginning, Rambo said, the Yuma bar had live entertainment with dancing girls, but she got rid of that feature about 27 years ago.
“He really liked the old western type of saloon,” she said, noting that their tavern even has an old painting of the Bird Cage Theatre on its wall. Rambo shared that they also used to own two other bars during their heyday: Red's Roost in Yuma and Red's Place in Winterhaven. After Red died in 1982, Rambo wanted to keep Red's Bird Cage open and has been able to do so with her employees' assistance.
“I have a lot of good, good help. I couldn't do this by myself.”
Rambo, who comes in almost every morning when the bar opens at 9:30, said she now sees the grandchildren of some of her longtime, regular customers and remarked that she has seen numerous generations of local people come through their doors. Groups come in to celebrate everything from baby showers and weddings to birthdays and other events, she said, noting it's a great place to celebrate. As for the current economic situation, Rambo said their establishment does well in the winter and slows down in the summer, just like everyone else.
“We have our ups and downs.
