About two-thousand revelers came out for a block party on Union Street -- between Laguna and Buchanan -- to celebrate 40 years of Perry's, the legendary saloon and restaurant, on a cool, sunny Sunday, Aug. 23.
Perry Butler, who has transformed his informal dining spot and popular watering hole into a franchise around the Bay, seemed to be enthralled by the turn-out.
The block was closed to traffic. Muni cooperated by running motorized buses on the 45-line to accommodate the celebrants. From a stage, music was provided by the jazz group California Honey Drops and The Sun Kings, a popular Beatles cover band.
"This is really terrific," Butler said to dozens of people as they grabbed his hand to offer congratulations. He seemed a little overwhelmed.
Cow Hollow was a sleepy little village when Butler opened Perry's in 1969, fashioned after P.J. Clarke's, the saloon on New York's East Side. Perry's soon altered the neighborhood, a loose collection of mom & pop groceries, a few drugstores, a hardware store or two, as it burgeoned into a hot single's spot with an urbane clientele. Perry's began to take on a life of its own. It created new life on the street. Much of the word was spread by stewardesses -- now called flight attendants -- who found Perry's to be a great place to unwind after the jets were cooled on the tarmac. Perry's became the place to go when in San Francisco.
"You should have been here in the old days," a seasoned vet of the Perry's 40-year experience said. "The Pill had just been invented, and the bad diseases hadn't shown up yet. If you went home alone at the end of the night from Perry's, then something had to be really wrong with you."
Aside from the lusty single's scene, Perry's became a media hang-out, particularly for sports figures, and newspaper people. Herb Caen was often there, as was Charles McCabe. So was Ron Fimrite. Kevin Keating and Glenn Dorenbush made it their office. Scott Beach's stentorian voice was often heard booming at the bar. Johnny and Diane Weissmuller were convivial regulars.
"I first met Charles McCabe on a rainy night at Perry's," recalled Carole Vernier, Herb Caen's longtime assistant. "McCabe inadvertently stomped on my toes as he shambled out the front door. He broke my foot. It hurt like hell, but I was thrilled to meet him."
Ball players of every stripe would roll in. Chub Feeney, former president of baseball's National League, was a regular (his picture is still on the wall, along with a that of another regular, Hank Greenwald, who was a celebrity bartender on the two nights that led up to the street party). Other celebs behind the bar were Joe Montana, the Chronicle's Bruce Jenkins, Channel 2's Tom Vacar, former 49ers President Carmen Policy, and the unsinkable Willie Brown. Thing is, all bartenders at Perry's, whether former or current, are celebrities. Michael McCourt, Michael English, Paul McManus, Howie Mayser, Bob Tobias, Joe Nazzaro, Mike and Chris Fogarty, Billy and Tony Masarweh, and Kevin Young were among those in attendance.
"The party was an incredible success," said host Iain MacKinlay on Monday morning. "It was beyond our best expectations. And we're really feeling it today." It's hard to access just how many hamburgers were served in the restaurant. The dishwasher could not keep up, plastic cups of all sorts were soon brought out from the storeroom.
"There are people here today I haven't seen in years and years," said Ed Guelld, longtime San Francisco resident.
Indeed. Steve McPartlin, who used to be a Bay Area TV personality, winged in from Palm Beach, Fla. for the occasion.
"It's great to be here," he said, "but it saddens me to see so many businesses on Union Street shuttered. All the same, the turn-out of all these people today is really amazing."
There was a large coterie of old-timers in front of Perry's and inside the place, too, but the overwhelming numbers were comprised of younger people.
"This is a lot of fun," exclaimed Katie Johnson, a Cow Hollow resident in her 30s. "I feel like I'm part of the neighborhood. After all, everybody knows Perry's."
"Perry's means having a good time," gushed Dustin Moore. "I'll be coming here for the next forty years."
Why did Melissa Mahony go to the block party? "Why not?" she shrugged.
"I saw so many old-timers today, many of my old friends who opened Perry's," mused Elaine Robinson. "I saw a guy from way back who we used to call Buffalo. He told me he was in town for five days only. He said his liver wouldn't be able to take more than that." Buffalo? "Yes, in the old days, everyone had a nickname."
Ms. Robinson's nickname from the old days?
"I don't have to reveal everything," she said mysteriously. "Not even for old-times' sake."
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