Niffy’s Merrimaker

Niffy’s Merrimaker is the Central Coast’s busiest small-venue live music room outside of Morro Bay proper, a corner bar on 2nd Street in Baywood (the back-bay community of Los Osos) where local and regional bands play seven days a week. The booking runs from Sunday afternoon happy-hour sets to Saturday-night dance bands in the Beer Garden, with karaoke, open mic, blues jams, and pool league nights filling everything in between. If there’s a single venue in the back-bay area that any music fan needs to know, this is it.

The venue sits at 1301 2nd Street at the corner of Santa Maria Avenue, the heart of the small commercial cluster locals call “downtown Baywood.” Niffy’s is a short walk from Beerwood, La Palapa, and the Baywood Pier, putting the venue at the center of the small but tight back-bay nightlife scene.

History and Reopening

The Merrimaker was a Baywood institution for decades before going through a quiet period, then reopened under new ownership as Niffy’s Merrimaker after a stem-to-stern remodel. The current ownership preserved the bar’s neighborhood-dive bones while modernizing the kitchen, expanding the patio, and adding a stage and lighting rig to the Beer Garden. The result is a venue that feels new without losing the warmth of the room that came before. The “Niffy’s” name comes from owner Niff, who runs the place day-to-day. Booking and event coordination runs through Brian at bmondrums@gmail.com, who handles a calendar that’s filled out a year in advance, an unusual show of planning discipline for a small Central Coast room.

The Room and the Beer Garden

The Merrimaker is a two-space venue: the main indoor bar and the outdoor Beer Garden. The indoor room is the classic neighborhood-corner-bar layout, dark wood, pool table in the back, a small stage tucked into the corner where the Sunday afternoon and Monday evening acoustic sets play out. The Beer Garden out back is where the Friday and Saturday night bands set up, with a real stage, a covered seating area, fire pits for the cold nights, and string lights overhead. The Beer Garden is also where the Wednesday Blues Asylum Open Blues Jam happens, where private parties post up, and where most of the venue’s big special events (the annual Queerwood drag show + DJ night, the Merrimaker Anniversary party) take over the calendar.

The Beer Garden seats roughly 100 people comfortably, with standing room for another 50 to 75 when a popular band draws a crowd. Beer Garden events are weather dependent: rain or a hard fog can move things indoors on short notice.

The Music

The weekly schedule at Niffy’s runs as follows:

• Sundays: Live music 3 to 5 PM, an early afternoon slot that rotates between local favorites like Jill Knight, Joy Polloi, Up In The Air, and Albert Sanudo Jr.
• Mondays: Live music 5 to 7 PM, the early-evening session. Bobby Santa Cruz & Co. and the Bobby Santa Cruz & The Jalapeno Jam Band are regular Monday acts.
• Tuesdays: $1 OFF wine and draft beer, plus open mic for tips 6 to 9 PM (sign up with Toni at antonetteromo@gmail.com).
• Wednesdays: The Blues Asylum Open Blues Jam, live in the Beer Garden 7 to 10 PM, typically running first and third Wednesdays of the month. Pool league nights round out the other Wednesdays.
• Thursdays: Karaoke 8 to 10 PM, hosted by Albert Sanudo Jr. or Rachel Santa Cruz on a rotating basis.
• Fridays: Live music 8 to 10 PM, the prime weekend headliner slot. Regulars include The Industry Band, Ray Jaurique Trio, Leslie & The Soul Shakers, Treble Ahead, Irene Cathaway Rhythm and Blues Band, and a deep bench of Central Coast working bands.
• Saturdays: Live music 8 to 10 PM, the venue’s biggest night. Saturday is when bands like Electric Lavender Train, Strange Cake, St. James Infirmary, Reel Too Real, DJ Johnny Blaze, and Crossroads Trio play to packed houses in the Beer Garden.

Most of the live music at Niffy’s is free or tip-based, with the exception of special events (the Queerwood Pride drag show, occasional touring acts) that may carry a cover. The full booking calendar through December is published on the venue’s site at niffysmerrimaker.com/2026-calendar, which is the source of truth for show dates.

Food and Drink

Niffy’s runs a small bar food menu and works with an adjacent food truck for full-meal nights. The drink program covers craft beer on draft, wine, well cocktails, and rotating specials, with the Tuesday $1 OFF deal on wine and draft beer being the most reliable weekly value. Karaoke nights and live music nights run a full bar; private parties in the Beer Garden can arrange catering and additional bar service through the venue.

Planning Your Visit

Location: 1301 2nd Street at Santa Maria Avenue, Baywood-Los Osos, CA 93402, on the corner in downtown Baywood. The venue is a 12-minute drive from downtown Morro Bay, a 10-minute walk from Sweet Springs Nature Preserve, and a short walk from Beerwood, La Palapa, and the Baywood Pier.

Phone: (805) 439-1735

Hours: Mon through Thu 2 to 10 PM, Fri and Sat 12 PM to 12 AM, Sun 10 AM to 10 PM.

Parking: Free street parking on 2nd Street and the surrounding residential blocks. The bar fills up fast on Saturday nights; arrive early for the closest spots.

Age policy: All ages until evening; most evening live music in the Beer Garden is 21+. Check the individual event listing for age restrictions on special events.

Door policy: No cover for most shows. Special events (the Queerwood drag show, occasional booked acts) may carry a $5 to $10 cover, posted on the door and in the event listing.

Best for: Saturday-night dance nights with a live band, low-key Sunday afternoon happy-hour sets, blues jams, karaoke, and the Wednesday open mic for working musicians. Niffy’s is the Nearby Happenings room locals send each other to when there’s nothing scheduled in Morro Bay proper – and often even when there is.

For the full upcoming Niffy’s Merrimaker calendar, see the events listed below. To browse everything happening around Morro Bay this week, the HelloMorroBay events calendar covers the rest.