New Owners Of Rookies Sports Bar & Grill Look To Hit A Home Run

Terence and Stacey Vallely, new owners of Rookies Sports Bar & Grill near the Benicia Waterfront, took a break from the hustle and bustle of the business to share their vision for the local hotspot. It’s an exciting time for the Benicia family in their bold endeavor.

Trey Vallely is general manager of bar operations and co-owner of Rookies.

“We wanted a piece of Benicia,” Stacey says. “We’ve been talking about getting a restaurant or something here for a long time, but nothing had really come up, and then Trey was able to find this opportunity, and so it was really exciting because it’s right on First Street, and I just love Benicia so much.”

Indeed, the spacious, 6,000-square foot establishment has much to behold with sports memorabilia adorning the walls — bats, balls, jerseys — and there’s even a NASCAR hood. Thirty-one flat-screen TVs give patrons opportunities to view the big game from virtually every angle.

“We have 32 beers on tap — we have the most taps in Benicia,” Trey declared proudly. “There’s a lot of potential. There’s potential for outside seating and entertainment as well as indoors, so I think we’re really just trying to open up and use the space better.”

Rookies Sports Bar & Grill, on 321 First Street, serves up old favorites like burgers, fish and chips, Cobb salad, and garlic fries, but the sports party is just getting started. The menu will be expanding soon. Business was booming on Sunday with all the foot traffic from the Benicia Waterfront Festival; and Benicia Farmers Market attendees on First Street will roll in on Thursdays.

Rookies gained traction through the years under former owners Margaret and Robert Storelee. Now the new owners look to put their own stamp on what is a historical site in Benicia: Rookies is based in front of the old Von Pfister building, which is in the National Register of Historic Places and has ties to the famed California Gold Rush.

The whole venture feels like a dream come true for the sports-minded Vallely family.

“We’re hoping that Rookies is a place that’s just kind of all inclusive — a one-stop shop for entertainment after a day of working,” Trey shared. “It’s a place that you can come for good food and drinks, good quality people, fast service. We’re hoping to improve on the menu, improve on the service, improve on the ambience and add some entertainment items that might draw some people in there and get a new crowd going.”

Some ideas being kicked around are renovating the music and lighting and adding pool tables.

The Vallely family has a deep history in Benicia; Terence has lived here for 25 years and Trey and his active brothers became sports team players before moving on to military service.

“We played football and all kinds of sports in Benicia all through elementary school, middle school and high school; soccer camps, hockey teams,” Trey shared. “We all played Benicia youth football. I played on the water polo team for a short amount of time; the golf team. After high school my brothers and I went to the military and that led to other first responding jobs, so we’ve always been in the field of like teamwork and working in a sports environment.”

Currently, Rookies’ patrons can nibble on garlic fries as they take in San Francisco Giants and Oakland A’s games, and other Major League Baseball action; WFC and MMA; NASCAR; golf; and Major League Soccer, among other events. NFL and college football seasons are fast approaching. The action never stops.

“We’re pretty excited to have this new business — It’s one of our local watering holes,” Trey assures.

"It's a hidden gem," Stacey adds.