Ernie’s Tin Bar in the North Bay will kick you out if you're on the phone

Ernie's Tin Bar on the corner of Lakeville Highway and Stage Gulch Road.

Some 20 minutes after opening on the Friday afternoon ahead of a holiday weekend, Ernie's Tin Bar at the tip of the Bay Area is starting to lose its open bar stools.

The seats are filling up with clients that vary in appearance. Some look like the wine-and-cheese crowd in fancy hats, while others lean more towards salt-of-the-earth types who refer to the bartenders by their first name and toss liar's dice in the back garage.

All are treated to a highly curated list of craft beer, the chance to meet a bar buddy and a genial sense of welcome from the bar's co-owner and third-generation proprietor, Ernie Altenreuther.

The bar's interior is about the length of a school bus and just as compact, but the tight quarters reflect the establishment's ethos of coming together, shoulder to shoulder, to have a pint and a chat. Honoring the time together is such a noted attribute of the bar that betraying it could end up costing you.

One of the first things you learn about the bar, stated under the welcome sign outside, is Ernie's official principle: No cellphone use. If you’re caught yapping on your phone, you get a warning. If you buck the hint, you’ll be asked to buy a round for the bar or head on home.

"The goal isn't to make people spend more money than they want to. The idea is to keep the environment at the bar as a social environment, instead of a stare-at-the-phone environment," Altenreuther says. "What makes it such a fun bar is that yeah, we have great beer and a look, but really it's the customers and staff that make the place."

The bar's unofficial slogan is made clear from the parking lot.

As the proprietor for over 20 years, Ernie watches over this country alehouse with a laid-back demeanor.

He's social, but not chatty, and his investment into this community is apparent. He allows a nearby CSA to run its farm box pick-ups from inside the bar, so they don't have to waste time waiting. Like a good barber, he’ll take your secret to the grave before it hits the street. When a patron orders a third cider, Altenreuther offers a non-judgmental reminder that the alcohol content is higher than what they might have anticipated.

Ernie's (the bar) and Altenreuther himself are both named for the same person, the late Ernest Altenreuther who first opened the garage and market 99 years ago, alongside his wife Gloria. Behind the bar, a black-and-white portrait of the couple on their wedding day is hung front and center.

Ernie Altenreuther, co-owner and third generation proprietor of Ernie's Tin Bar, in his natural habitat.

When Ernie's first opened, you could pull up for a gas refill and Ernest himself would wipe down the window. When Prohibition put the kibosh on sales of alcohol, Ernie's was a spot where you could find a liberated libation.

Its isolated location — 6 miles from Petaluma and about 10 miles from Sonoma — indicates how Ernie's is a social hub for those who live remotely.

Altenreuther and his godmother/cousin Chris Nardone took over the bar in 1999, honoring their roots by keeping the spirit of the bar alive, while embracing a craft beer revolution.

Before they took over, the beer selection was reduced to a few domestics such as Bud, Coors and Miller — and no imports.

"Right after we took over, the first thing I did was bring in Coronas," Altenreuther said. "Even that was a controversy for some customers at the time. They said, ‘He's changing things!’"

The 20 taps at Ernie's Tin Bar for the holiday weekend.

Over the last 23 years, Ernie and Chris expanded the taps to 20 handles that span the amber spectrum from light lagers to triple IPAs. Kegs are changed often; some of the most popular beers can tap out after just a few days. Bottles and cans are still available.

In keeping with the antique post out front promoting beer for $1.75, the price of a Montucky Cold Snack is just that.

Having a beer at Ernie's begins with the eyes. You’d be hard-pressed to find an open space to hang up a picture — generations of regulars beat you to it. There are portraits of large families, a guy in a full spaceman suit having a pint by the bar's window and a tattered slip of paper with the phone number of a nearby ranch, in case the "cow's out."

Bands will sometimes set up in the back corner for live music. Customers were purchasing tickets on Friday afternoon for a bigger show from Tommy Guerrero that was slated for Memorial Day. Original concert posters with unique graphic art promoting past shows adorn a wall in the back, like a pint-sized Fillmore.

Relics, regulars and taxidermy decorate the walls inside Ernie's Tin Bar.

The eggshell-white tin garage is in clear view at the intersection of two backcountry roadways: Stage Gulch Road, which connects to Sonoma proper, and Lakeville Highway, which runs into Petaluma.

The location is a boon for attracting window shoppers, but the proximity to a tight two-lane highway has its setbacks. Like when a Ford pickup plowed into the bar one Friday night, several years ago.

Car accidents on Lakeville Highway are common. So much so that there's a sign posted along the road that tallies the number of crashes. It's updated throughout the year; for 2022, there are already 11.

The intersection in front of Ernie's is burdened by a precarious left-hand turn onto the highway. During a weekend afternoon, cars and trucks trickle past, going in each direction with constant turnover, leaving drivers to edge forward and quickly peel out when there's a break.

That three-way intersection has become enough of a nuisance that Caltrans is currently debating two alternatives to improve it. There are talks of either installing signals or building a roundabout to maintain traffic flow. Jeff Weiss, a Caltrans spokesperson, told SFGATE that the project is in its early stages, with construction estimated to begin in 2024.

The bar is connected to a defunct mechanic's garage where a 1947 Chrysler Windsor is parked for good.

In the meantime, cars will continue peeling out to beat the traffic crunch. If there's a bellowing honk from an incoming big rig, it may solicit cheers from the imbibers seated outside of Ernie's. And if it's a Friday afternoon, there's a good chance the guys from a local custom paint shop are out there holding court during their post-work routine.

Lizz Earnest, a fabricator and patina specialist living in Sonoma, calls herself a semi-regular at Ernie's. She was on her way home from Petaluma after picking up steel for her business. She stopped by for a drink and reminisced about the time she saw someone answer their phone while inside the bar.

It was a few years back and when she heard the phone ring, she looked up and saw that it was Bam Margera, a skateboard daredevil who used to star in the MTV reality stunt show "Jackass."

The whole bar hushed and started gesturing toward Margera. Was he going to have to buy the bar a round?

"He laughed about it," Earnest said. "He got off with the warning."