There's something intrinsically Irish about holding a wake for a bar that's about to close its doors, a mournful, lugubrious sort of gathering -- and yet, when a person dies, the passing is marked by party, with raucous fiddle music, joke-telling, and stories about what a funny, crusty but benign man the departed was.
Late last month, it was the former sort of event. Nob Hill regulars of the John Barleycorn pub on Larkin at California, were subdued and pensive, and terribly nostalgic. The 40-year old saloon, a nexus of neighborhood activity, is closing at the end of October. Michael Wales, who pours drinks at the Barleycorn and at the Big 4, looked a little lost.
"It's a little like the death in the family," he said. "We got saloons all over town to raise a glass at 7 p.m. to salute the Barleycorn." I didn't hear any solemn ringing of bells from the churches, but the pub was a little noisy. Sup. Aaron Peskin, who helped in the effort to keep the bar open, stopped by for a moment. The new property owner, Luisa Hansen, is mum on her plans for the place, but the locals know the Barleycorn party is over, and an era has ended.
Phil Frank, the "Farley" cartoonist who died last month, would have loved to attend the wake -- but there were too many being held -- for him. This lovely man died last month, and he was way too young. The biggest "Farley" memorial was a gathering in Washington Square. "We were jammed all day," said the gorgeous Linda Fimrite over at the Washington Square Bar & Grill. "People were dressed as Farley characters. It was wonderful." .... Across the park at Moose's on Sept 26, Phil Frank was honored by receiving the First-Ever Herb Caen Lifetime Achievement Award. sponsored by the SF Publicity Club. Emcee Ben Fong-Torres quipped, "We have other awards today -- including one for Ed Jew dot.com." ... The City's salty-dog historian and first-rate Chronicle reporter Carl Nolte, accepted the award for Phil Frank's family. Christopher Caen, Ed Moose, Fred La Cosse, Ronn Owens, Stu Smith, Tara O'Leary, were on hand to hand out Pubby Awards to local media people. They were nice enough to give me one, too. I was speechless. I had to thank everyone by tapping my message with my foot in the men's restroom. ...
Former Supervisor Jack Molinari, the man who would be mayor back in the 1980s, popped into It's A Grind Coffeehouse at Polk & Washington, and allowed a few thoughts about the Ed Jew debacle. "The mayor acted way too late," Jack growled. "Now it has all got out of hand. Ed should have taken a leave-of-absence, avoiding all this drama with the lawyers and distractions for the government. Mark Quessey, a brash barista serving drinks, interjected, "We need some young people to run the government." Molinari acerbic, as usual, shot back." We have a young person running the City, and look how that turned out." ... There's a fuss over whether ads should be placed on the Golden Gate Bridge -- a hideous thought for most of us. But it's not a new idea. On April, 1, 1989, when I was radio reporter at KQED-FM, I was asked to come up with an April Fool gag. I called Quentin Kopp, the San Mateo County judge who was a State Senator and head of the Metropolitan Transportation Commission. I asked Kopp on the air what he thought about Japanese plans to buy the GG Bridge, and hang long, colorful commercial messages for Toyota from the towers. Kopp didn't miss a beat: "This is the work of the Golden Gate Bridge District who have handed the bridge over, garish ads and all, in return for free lunches from the Japanese in perptuity." It sounded far-fetched then. Today, I'm not so sure. ... Lunch was on Norm Howard's mind the other day when he and his old pal, Dorian Clair, the clockmaker, went to their regular Friday lunch at Herb's Fine Foods on 24th St. in Noe Valley, a real landmark. Norm was non-plussed. "Imagine our surprise at finding a hand-lettered sign on the door: 'As of September 18 we are closed. Thank You.' The interior was partially gutted. It had been there since 1943. So we went up to Barney's. But the food wasn't fine in the way Herb's was." ...
Sascha Stolz has been keeping an eye on the singles action in the produce section of Cala Foods ay Hyde & California. It seems to be going strong. Sascha is reminded of Allen Ginsberg's A Supermarket in California.
"Aisles full of husbands! Wives in the avocados, babies in the tomatoes!--and you, Garcia Lorca, what were you doing down by the watermelons? ... I saw you, Walt Whitman, childless, lonely old grubber, poking among the meats in the refrigerator and eyeing the grocery boys." Whitman may have made it to The Cinch, the lovely gay bar with the wooden Indian on Polk & Clay. "It's that time of year again," mused Sascha "The holidays are coming, but this year, I will not be spending Christmas at The Cinch with my pals. No way. Last year it was the Cinch that stole Christmas." ... So there.
Bruce Bellingham is author of a book also called "Bellingham by the Bay." He swears he's made progress on his second book, "The Angina Dialogues." It's about heart trouble, of all sorts E-mail him bruce@northsidesf.com
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