Firewater Saloon
The Firewater was once known as the Rusty Spur, a lively honky tonk patronizing Camp Pendleton Marines who loved country music. In the 60s the Spur often presented the Mandrell Family Band which included 1967 Oceanside High graduate and future country music superstar Barbara Mandrell. After being renamed the Firewater, Alicia Breton became one of its owners in 2016.
The Firewater Saloon was closed September 25, 2018. Owners were given a ten-day notice before armed-and-uniformed state ABC officers and Oceanside police officers came in and posted SUSPENDED signs in the window and confiscated any leftover liquor. The owners had 180 days to sell the license.
Oceanside Police said at the time that there had been numerous late night calls for service for fights and other problems outside the bar. Eight years previous, a Firewater bartender was caught selling drugs, resulting in a liquor license suspension. About that time, there was a death that resulted from an assault by a Firewater bouncer, as well as a separate stabbing.