THEY'RE BACK CLUB'S NEW OWNERS RESTORE CURLY FRIES AND RACING CRABS.

Byline: Gregory J. Wilcox Staff Writer

RESEDA - It's a Thursday night at Weber's Place and the venerable joint is filling up with the faithful. Yamilet Alarcon, fashionably attired even though the atmosphere is ultracasual, sits at the bar with her boyfriend and tries to work some magic on G.P. It's hard to say whether G.P. appreciates the attention, which is too bad but understandable.

G.P. is a hermit crab born for racing, not romance.

``We're expecting to win a trip to Las Vegas. That's why we came,'' said Alarcon, a native of Guatemala who owns a Canoga Park hair salon.

Crabs are unpredictable, though, and, when her race starts, G.P. clams up and Alarcon doesn't win that Vegas trip, at least on this night.

No matter, though. Everyone still seems to be having fun at this longtime Valley hangout now operating under its third owner since 1980.

It's a business that's evolved much like the Valley itself, a melting pot of accents and ethnicity.

The boss is from Thailand.

The chief cook is from Mexico.

One of the night bartenders is from the Czech Republic.

And the bouncer is a native Val.

Steve Williams, a financial analyst at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, and his wife, Annie, came across Weber's about a year ago when they were looking for a combination restaurant and sports bar to buy.

It seemed like a perfect fit and about six months later the place was theirs.

Steve Williams said they liked the neighborhood near Tampa Avenue and Vanowen Street and the fact that a police station is a few blocks away. Weber's had a loyal following, too.

``We wanted a family-type business,'' he said. ``A lot of people come here on the weekend with their families to catch a game.''

They soon discovered that the loyal following did not want to see old habits broken.

For a while the bar's tasty curly fries disappeared from the menu and the crab races were discontinued.

Both are back, now.

Annie Williams, who runs the place, and night cook Lucio Terrazas, who's also the sous-chef at a big Los Angeles hotel, added baby back ribs and steak to the weekend menu. The food is a tad spicier, now, too.

Williams' family owned a restaurant in Thailand for years so she knew that owning her own place would demand long hours and sometimes seven-day weeks.

``We changed some things a little bit to make the food more tasty. I try it the way I like it first, then let the customer make the decision,'' she said.

Customers essentially made the decision to bring back the crab races, too, after they were discontinued in part because the crustaceans demand more care than tropical fish, Steve Williams said.

Patrons can pick their contestant from the bar's stable of critters. About five at a time are placed in the middle of a round table and the first one that crawls its way to the edge wins. The process is repeated until a champion is crowned.

New to the entertainment menu is the free ``open mike'' on Wednesday nights. Musicians can come to the bar and try their music out on the patrons.

Longtime Weber's customer Bob Engel, part of the Valley-based group Cover Boy and a project manager at Image Entertainment in Chatsworth, runs the show.

And he's tickled that the Williamses now own the bar. ``We tried it with the previous owner and she was totally against it,'' Engel said. He also notes that Weber's features live music on Saturday nights and there is no cover charge, which makes it a good venue for Valley-based bands.

The musicians who show up for open-mike night are an eclectic mix.

Take Granada Hills resident Aaron J. Schwartz, a former Air Force officer and by day a manager in computer operations at Universal Studios. By night he's known as Aaron Black, a crooner with a message. His musical roots date back to college at the Air Force Academy.

``I had the only punk band in Colorado Springs in 1983,'' he said, adding that he's mellowed with age.

``I'm atheist and I'm trying to present that message, although I take a very humorous approach,'' he said with a laugh.

Then there is Joseph Andrews, co-owner and director of career development at Century 21 All Properties Inc. in Chatsworth.

He's relatively new to the music scene, so Weber's is a place he can find his performing comfort zone.

``I hit one of those birthdays than end in a zero so I did two things I've always wanted to do. I went skydiving - that's where the song ``Leap of Faith'' came from - and I bought a guitar,'' he said.

By throwing all these ingredients together, the Williamses might just be cooking up a recipe for success.

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5 photos

Photo:

(1 -- 2 -- color) At left, Neil Walter plays guitar while Bob Engle sings during Weber's open-mike Wednesday night. Below, bartender Lucie Nezirova, left, and owner Annie Williams mix a drink at Weber's Place.

(3 -- color) The crowd goes crazy at longtime Valley hangout Weber's Place as the Thursday night crab races get set to begin.

(4 -- 5 -- color) The crab race rules at Weber's Place are simple: About five at a time are placed in the middle of a round table and the first one that crawls its way to the edge wins. The process is repeated until a champion is crowned. Lucio Terrazas, left, shows off Weber's most popular dish, the ``Mega Munchin.''

Gene Blevins/Special to the Daily News