The Deer Park had a succession of owners until 1976, when ERG Inc. purchased the building. Changes included an expanded menu, Sunday brunch and Sunday night jazz, a new bar, restoration of the original red brick, the addition of a new, Victorian-style porch, remodeled kitchen, bathrooms and dining area, and the removal of panel walls to reveal the original oak woodwork. Wainscoting runs up the walls. Draft choices recently included a Stoudt's product and a Pete's product and mainstream domestics, with nearly 100 micros and imports available by the bottle. The windows and door are kept open in summer to let breezes in, and ceiling fans whirl.
Diners can sit out on the covered porch or in one of several dining areas.
The menu emphasizes Mexican and Tex-Mex food, with an assortment of sandwiches, burgers, fajitas and a Cajun crawfish quesadilla among the offerings. The Deer Park Inn is also open for breakfast. W riters and drink go way back, and one of the coolest historic bars has a direct connection with the man who wrote John Barleycorn, Jack London. Originally called J.M. Heinold's Saloon, it is built from the timbers of old whaling ships. The bar's present name dates to the 1920s and derives from the fact that it is at the Port of Oakland, so it was the last bar a ferry passenger, and later a serviceman, could drink in before boarding ship, and the first one to greet him upon his return.