10 posts tagged “bar”
The 18th Street Bar, which after a couple of months of feverish activity has been quieter than a Barry Bonds rally, is showing some signs of life. A week or so back large signs went up in all of the front windows announcing the concept and expected opening date of the new bar.
The sign reads:
18th Street Bar
Celebrating diversity through music
Hip Hop
R&B
Funk/Soul
Jazz
House
Alternative
Dance
Projected Opening
December 2007
This sign is notable for a few reasons. First and foremost, pretty much 9 out of 10 people you ask would say that they expected the bar to stand vacant for years, just like The Patio Cafe. (The 10th person is coming out of a K-hole and didn't hear the question correctly.)
Second, the list of music which is going to unify us through diversity-celebration is impressively exhaustive. I mean, seriously, checking the iTunes website I think the only musical genres not included are klezmer and Tuvan throat singing.
Third, it's pretty obvious that the poster was written to ease concerns that Les Natali (the new owner of the space) was going to take the only bar in the neighborhood targeted toward people of color (the former Pendulum) and turn it into another Badlands -- which, face it, is not exactly a Benetton ad. Les' troubles with the city's Human Rights Commission and the independent group And Castro For All are well-known so I won't go into them here, but part of his reported defense was his intention to keep the Pendulum space as a bar targeting a multi-ethnic clientele. I think this sign's inclusion of terms such as "diversity" and "the Hip Hop" are clear defensive move.
And fourth and finally, this sign is worth a double-take because of the expected opening date of December 2007, about a year and a half after construction began. I know things move slowly with construction and permitting in this city, but damn, that better be one fun circus under that awning.
Over the weekend I stopped by the newly renovated Harvey's for brunch, and it was like dropping by on an old friend -- one with a big liquor cabinet and a deep-fat fryer.
In spite of the major construction, on the surface little is changed. It's the same menu, the same staff, the same mysterious upstairs-around-the-corner kitchen. However, the place has been polished up with a more sophisticated color scheme and some richer finishes.
You notice it first at the entrance, where the walls are covered with a woody, rattan-like material on one wall and slick black tiles on the other.
Inside, the color scheme continues with the walls painted a rich caramel/tan color, and the bar and banquette upholstered with black leather (well, OK, a black leather-adjacent fabric).
The center-piece, literally and aesthetically, is the bar, which is the one area where the fundamental layout has changed. As before, there are high, round tables and low, square tables on the Castro side of the restaurant, and high, square tables against the banquette on the 18th street side. The two slightly-sketchy but hard-working bathrooms and the server's station are still in the back corner. But the bar which used to be a chevron jutting into the center of the room has been reshaped into a straight line against the back wall. This opens up the space considerably, and also allows for a more visually arresting design for the bar. A wide swath of the natural rattan shoots dramatically up the wall and onto the ceiling.
I am really pleased with the makeover, but mostly I'm pleased to have this neighborhood mainstay back. Looking airier and more inviting than even, it's a beautiful anchor to this high-traffic intersection. Well done, Harvey!
I have it on very good authority (OK, admittedly anyone who has time to email me tips isn't exactly a national security advisor, but still, I'm willing to report anything) that our semi-beloved Harvey's is reopening tonight with a party at 9pm! Reviews, photos, and a few bad puns to come! Stay tuned...
A reader sent me this bit of news on the Harvey's renovation:
I was working out in front of our house this morning
and my neighbor, XXXX, told me his big news is that
he's the overseeing contractor on the Harvey's
remodel. He says they're not touching the kitchen, but
that they've already redone the bar and will be
redoing all of the seating area. He says it won't take
too long as the owners are anxious to get back up and
running ASAP. XXXX also says that everybody passing by
asks about how soon they'll reopen and that the
neighborhood really seems to love the establishment
and is concerned for its well-being. That's the scoop
from me.
(I redacted the contractor's name, just in case.)
It's nice to hear that my initial intuition that this was going to be a long-term closure was wrong (probably). Considering the extent of the electrical and duct work it's surprising to hear that they aren't touching the kitchen. Let's hope this rumor is true, and Harvey's doesn't become another Patio Cafe, sitting "under construction" for months stretching into years.
Early Wednesday morning I was surprised to find that Harvey's windows were all papered over.
Now before you start mourning or celebrating (opinions on Harvey's tend to be polarized), there is also a sign posted explaining that Harvey's is "closed for major repairs, until further notice." It is notable that no reopening date is given and the term "major repairs" is used instead of "renovation" -- those are probably bad indicators that this involves more than a new coat of paint and the annual rotation of the frier oil.
Yesterday we passed by and the front door was open, allowing me to snap the pic below. Sure enough, you can see that a ladder has been set up to give access to the ceiling, with wires and ductwork dangling down. I was originally wondering if Harvey's was going to be reconfigured to give it a more proper stage, but seeing this scene makes me think that the renovations are more dire and much less glamorous. More like an angioplasty than a boob job.
I'm going to email the address provided to get updates, but let me know if you have any information to share.
The Edge, the bar at 18th and Collingwood, posted this set of signs advertising their MLK weekend specials:
The unfortunate situation of the sign to look like a speech bubble coming from Dr. King's expressively open mouth gives the impression that the civil rights leader is exhorting us to expand our vision of an equal society to include cheap Mai Tais.
I noticed today that MLK's picture has been moved to the wall inside.
In early November, just over one year after the old Detour bar was shuttered by Les Natali, a new bar called Jet has finally opened in its place. At the time, the new bar looked pretty much like the old one -- just plain black and shuttered up on the outside -- so I assumed the name referred to a type of engine, and I imagined that the bar would have the same dark, industrial feel that the back-alley-monikered Detour had.
But if I'd been thinking I would have realized that the new owner, Greg Bronstein, is also the man who brought us Blue, Red Grill, Lime, ... are you detecting a pattern? Yes, like any respectable gay man would, he started with a color story, and this time that story begins, "Once upon a time in a jet black bar, which was sleek and modern and not the least bit syphilitic..."
So "jet" refers to a color, and although I've never been inside I'm told that the chain link fence is gone and the decor is meant to be more upscale instead of down low. Bronstein calls it "black glam" and according to the B.A.R. his ultimate plan is to bust down the wall with the space new door, currently empty after serving as Bevin Dufty's campaign headquarters. In previous reports they had said that he planned to install a dance floor, but I don't know if that's still true.
Here are some pictures from the outside of the bar with its snazzy new signage:
Since we're talking about the Cafe and its plans for extensive plastic surgery to go along with its recent application of spray-on tan, I thought I'd also mention that a new awning just went up out front. There's something very 80's-retro about it -- it almost looks like set dressing from a Saved by the Bell episode -- but it also helps it stand out more clearly from the Subway sandwich shop next door which is a good thing.
In this week's Bay Area Reporter "Business Briefs" column there is an interesting entry about The Cafe (2367 Market Street), one of the few bars with a dance floor and lesbians in the Castro:
Tom Hutachinda, the owner of The Cafe, is shopping around plans to expand the Castro dance club to make it handicap accessible. The modern design with plenty of windows calls for a three-story addition on the 17th Street side of the building, currently used for parking.
The build out includes a basement level, a ground floor cafe with mezzanine level, a second floor expansion to the club with ADA compliant bathrooms, and a third floor for offices. An elevator and staircase would be built to provide ADA access as well as an emergency exit. A pool table adjacent to the dance floor would be moved to the new space in order to install a wheelchair lift for access to the raised back bar area.
... Construction would not start for at least another year and take an estimated nine months to complete.
This will be an interesting story to watch develop. It's difficult to tell from this report, but if the addition actually faces out onto 17th Street it could help to increase the connectedness between Castro Street and Market Street, and also give a boost to 17th Street businesses.
The story also indicates that Hutachinda is the owner of restaurants Malacca and Crave as well. Are there any bars or restaurants in the Castro that aren't part of a mini-empire?
Breaking news: The (possibly former) Pendulum which has been under renovation for months has moved one step closer to opening up again with the addition of a new awning! And judging by it, Les Natali is not going for a sleek sophisticated look. Think more along the lines of "gay circus."
I didn't have my camera this morning, so I'll have to post a picture later, but the awning is covered with bright, broad rainbow stripes across the entire front of the bar. The old sign has been saved (although it is still blank) and there is an awkward cut-out in the awning to accommodate it.
We'll have to see what the name, image, and marketing of the bar will be. The Pendulum was unique as the only bar in the Castro which had a primarily African-American clientele, and knowing Les' alleged activities at Badlands I think most people are expecting the bar to be skewed a different direction. (i.e. More "Queer as Folk," less "Noah's Ark.")
But if the new awning is in fact a tribute to Jesse Jackson's rainbow coalition, many people may be surprised to find Les' newfound polyphyletic inclusiveness. (Allegedly newfound, I should say.)
UPDATE!
So here is the awning, folks. Thoughts?
Here's another angle of the cutaway to accommodate the old sign. The front of the building certainly looks better, but my goodness. Was there no one gay around to help choose this awning?
