How it all began...

The legendary Pappy & Harriet's Pioneertown Palace has been delighting locals and travelers alike since 1982, with its mesquite barbeque, live music, dancing and friendly service.  There is also a long history here.  In 1946, Pioneertown was founded by a group of Hollywood investors with dreams of creating a living movie set -- an 1870's frontier town with facades for filming and interiors open to the public.


On the outside were stables, saloons, and jails, and on the inside, were ice cream parlors, bowling alleys, and motels.  Roy Rogers, Gene Autry, Russell Hayden, and the Sons of the Pioneers (for whom the town was named) were some of the original investors and personalities who helped build and invent Pioneertown.  More than 50 films and several television shows were filmed in Pioneertown throughout the 1940's and 1950's.

In 1946, where Pappy & Harriet's stands today, was a facade used as a "cantina" set for numerous western films well into the 1950s.  In 1972, Harriet's mother, Francis Aleba, and her husband, John, purchased the building and opened "Cantina", a biker burrito bar that became a destination for bikers traveling to Big Bear and Las Vegas. Cantina rollicked for 10 years, and when it closed, Francis and John made sure the building stayed in the family.

In 1982, Harriet and her husband, Claude "Pappy" Allen, opened "Pappy & Harriet's Pioneertown Palace," served family style Tex-Mex cuisine,
and brought musicians from all over the world to perform for their patrons.  Today, Pappy & Harriet's continues the tradition of live music, great barbeque, and good times in memory of Pappy and all those who came before him. We hope you enjoy your time here! (Photos by Constance)

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