TORCHED PUB MAY NOT RETURN PICKWICK'S OWNERS, PATRONS DEVASTATED BY LOSS OF POPULAR NIGHT SPOT.

Byline: Jason Kandel Staff Writer

WOODLAND HILLS - The owners of Pickwick's Pub said Thursday they were unsure if they will be able to rebuild the popular night spot after an arson fire gutted the business.

The 30-year-old British-style pub at 21010 Ventura Blvd. went up in flames early Saturday after witnesses reported seeing someone throw an incendiary device through the front window.

Damage estimates had not been tallied, said pub owner Graham Rose, who held a $1 million liability insurance policy on the property, plus $45,000 for its contents. But Rose was unsure whether the policy would cover the extensive damage of the bar he owned for seven years, or whether the landlord would allow him to rebuild.

``We've got to move on. We can't be crying and wailing,'' Rose said. ``I'm angry, but we're alive. We're fit and healthy. And I've got to get on with my life. I can't mope around about it.''

Longtime patrons were mourning the loss of their beloved watering hole, which offered British staples like pints of ale, shepherd's pie and mushy peas in a setting that included photos of the Beatles, Winston Churchill and Princess Diana.

It drew a wide variety of patrons, including celebrities like Taylor Hawkins, the drummer from the rock band the Foo Fighters, and Priscilla Presley and her daughter Lisa-Marie Presley.

And of course, there were the die-hard locals.

``It was a part of my life,'' said Martyn Jacobs, 83, a double amputee who often piloted his electric wheelchair to the pub for a pint of ale and a serving of bangers and mash.

Now, he said, ``it's been taken away.''

``It was just an awesome place,'' said Drew Young, 26, a guitarist and singer with the Red Muffs, which played cover songs by the Rolling Stones and Sublime there every Tuesday night.

``It was the meeting spot for everybody. It had such a buzz to it. It has a very homey feeling to it. Everyone feels like their home was destroyed.''

The band will hold a fundraiser for the pub at 9 p.m. Tuesday at Harpers Sports Bar, 19333 Business Center Drive, in Northridge. Proceeds from the show will benefit the rebuilding effort, Young said.

Arson investigators with the Los Angeles Fire Department believe the fire was intentionally set, possibly by an unruly patron who was thrown out of the pub after getting into a fight.

Authorities say they have identified a ``person of interest in the case,'' but no arrests have been made, said Los Angeles Fire Department Investigator Rick Chew.

Audrey Rose, who helped run the bar with her husband, had just gotten the approval of the area's neighborhood council to expand and build a tea room before the fire. She broke down in tears talking about the ending of a Valley institution.

``I'm sure the pub will be rebuilt and I hope it is,'' she said. ``It's a fixture.''

Jason Kandel, [phone]

jason.kandel(at)dailynews.com

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Photo:

Pickwick's Pub co-owner Audrey Rose stands in dismay outside what's left of the Ventura Boulevard nightspot that officials think was destroyed by arson.

John Lazar/Staff Photographer