Union Square hofbrau Lefty O’Doul’s to close, find new home
Lefty O’Doul’s, the rambling Union Square hofbrau known for its baseball memorabilia, Christmas toy drive and steaming plates of corned beef and cabbage, will close next month after failing to come to new lease terms with its landlord.
The battered shrine to San Francisco baseball great Lefty O’Doul, which has filled the former St. Francis Theater at 333 Geary St. since 1958, will serve its last hand-carved pastrami sandwich sometime around midnight on Feb. 3.
Bovis said he decided to relocate after it became clear the property owner wasn’t going to offer him a long-term lease that would allow for the kind of improvements he feels the space needs, which he says are in excess of $5 million.
[...] while the demise of the current iteration of the hofbrau will be sure to upset fans of San Francisco’s ramshackle dives and boozy piano bars, Bovis promised the closing would not be the last chapter in the Lefty O’Doul’s story.
Five years ago Handlery evicted another of Bovis’ drinking establishments, the Gold Dust Lounge, from its home at 247 Powell St., replacing it with an Express clothing store.
In a lawsuit at the time, Bovis accused Handlery of “greed and deceit” and “attempting to evict a historic and uniquely San Francisco cultural landmark” in exchange for an “unnamed, anonymous, flavorless, international chain.”
“Lefty O’Doul’s is a San Francisco treasure providing not only a great sandwich, a cold beer and intriguing company but giving back to our community through its dedication to children,” Mayor Ed Lee said Thursday.
The house piano player, former Irish police officer Frank O’Connor, is enough of a draw that tourists come back year after year to drink and sing along.
Bovis said he’s confident he’ll be able to re-create Lefty’s hodgepodge atmosphere — the redwood paneled walls, the cafeteria-style food line, the piano bar, green Naugahyde booths and walls cluttered with more than 400 pieces of memorabilia, including Marilyn Monroe’s ID from when she was married to DiMaggio.
“I’m a mechanical engineer so I know how to keep things going, but this old battleship, it’s time to retire her,” Bovis said.
Other restaurant owners, including John Konstin of John’s Grill, have agreed to take on some workers until the new Lefty’s is up and running.
The relocation of historic businesses is nothing new, according to S.F. Heritage Executive Director Mike Buhler, who pointed out that even the Tadich Grill, in business since 1949, isn’t in its original location.
He pointed to the relocation of Original Joe’s from the Tenderloin to North Beach as an example of a restaurant that moved while retaining its historic presence and character.