OC-Based events company 24 Carrots to take over Long Beach’s famed Petroleum Club

Employee-owned events venue company 24 Carrots has officially taken over the lease at the historic Petroleum Club in Bixby Knolls. The Grand—which took over the lease mid-pandemic amid a rocky footing—will be vacating the space within the coming weeks.

“24 Carrots is one of, if not the biggest, of Orange County catering companies,” said Altar Society owner Jon Sweeney, who permits 24 Carrots to book the brewery’s 2nd and 3rd floor event spaces. “They do a great job—and I have no question that they’ll run a good show and know what they are doing. Especially with a space as special as The Petroleum Club.”

Wait—what is the Petroleum Club?

Long Beach’s Petroleum Club was born from the city’s oil heyday. And, of course, the desire of its industry class to have a place of their own. Conceived in 1954, the club first operated out of a rented room next to Ricart’s Restaurant at 4635 Atlantic Ave. before members commissioned a purpose-built clubhouse in Bixby Knolls.

They opened the doors at 3636 Linden Ave. in May 1958 to a mid-mod showpiece by local architect J. Richard Shelley. It featured a theater-style ballroom for 500-plus. An immense circular bar with an adjoining card room. Private conference and women’s dining rooms. (Gotta love the 1950s). And a south-side swimming pool.

The interiors folded in local oil lore—a long Walter A. Miller canvas mural of the Signal Hill field circa 1925—and even a now-lost Bernard Zimmerman metal sculpture of a gasoline cracking plant in the lobby. In its early decades the club was exclusive and, well, clubby. Oilmen and their families. Saturated-with-red, leather-boothed banquette dining in the Linden Lounge. A calendar filled with banquets and balls. If anything it mirrored the confidence of the industry that helped build modern Long Beach.

As oil’s social orbit shrank, so did the club’s membership.

Were there other plans for the space after The Grand took it over?

By early 2019, the Petroleum Club closed its doors and entered escrow with two local realtors who floated a condominium plan; the venue effectively went dark in March of that year. Then the pandemic stalled demolition, and a funny thing happened: preservationists and new operators pushed to revive the place as an events venue rather than erase it.

In late 2020, the building won a reprieve from the wrecking ball, and by spring 2021, it began a cautious reopening. Leaning into its original purpose, it helped gather people under those stone walls and stained-glass windows under Long Beach events company, The Grand. For a brief moment, the owners of the now-shuttered Browerij West were set to take over the space. Their shelved plans? To return The Petroleum Club back to the citizens of Long Beach, where ID would provide free entry, while garnering memberships from those outside the city.

So what is 24 Carrots—and what will be of The Petroleum Club?

Born in Switzerland and raised in the U.S., 24 Carrots founder Norm Bennett refined his craft at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York. Come 2004, Bennett translated his culinary passion and ambition into reality by founding 24 Carrots, a name he describes as “pure gold,” symbolic of the “top-tier service and quality I always intend to deliver.”

By 2016, soaring demand led 24 Carrots to acquire a massive 40,000-square-foot facility. Over the next year, Bennett—alongside then-CEO Laura Fabian and their team—directed an extensive renovation. By November 2017, the new headquarters in Costa Mesa was fully operational and also altered the way events companies communicated with customers. Instead of group tastings, Norm introduced one-on-one sessions for couples, held in beautifully appointed tasting rooms with chef’s‑table views into the kitchen. This intimate, bespoke touch transformed their reputation, resulting in over 600 tastings per year and dozens of events each weekend.

Eventually, the group moved into venue buying, owning seven venues and overseeing booking at over 20 additional locations, including Altar Society in DTLB. The Petroleum Club, for all intents and purposes, will remain The Petroleum Club—but likely receive a much-needed facelift while keeping its mid-mod charm.

The Petroleum Club is located at 3636 Linden Ave.