Ken Reed, Alley Cat owner and resolute downtown character, dies at 78

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET)  – An absolute legend of downtown Bakersfield and one of the city’s great characters, Kenny Reed, longtime owner of Guthrie’s Alley Cat, has died.

“Legendary is the word,”’ said Mike McGraw, who bartended at the Alley Cat from the late 1980s through the 1990s before going on to a career in education. ”All the cliches apply to a guy like Kenny. He was just bigger than life.”

“The bar represented a place where people from everywhere could come and go,” McGraw said. “There were always cops and writers and lawyers and plumbers, and everybody could rub elbows and he provided a safe place.”

Reed was a sociology grad student at San Diego State, doing his student teaching, when he and his wife Dana Guthrie Reed came home to Bakersfield in the mid-1970s to run the Guthrie family business for a year or so.

Instead, they bought the saloon from the estate of Shorty Guthrie.

“He was a very lovable guy,” McGraw said. “But he was a tough guy too. And he didn’t like blowhards or bullies and he would be quick to point it out if you were one or the other, and dispense his kind of justice. He was such an articulate guy and a beautiful man, but he was not someone to be trifled with.”

Reed’s daughter Trish Fike now owns the Alley Cat, which dates back to the 1930s, and with its iconic neon sign, and distinctive wallpaper, striking mural and photo gallery, remains a landmark.

Reed, who was 78, died from congestive heart failure. He is survived by his wife Dana, daughters Meaghan and Trish, and Trish’s husband Joe Fike.

“My grief,” McGraw said, “is going to be shared by many of us.”

A memorial service is pending.

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