User:Kllamanzares/Comstock Saloon

Article Draft
Comstock Saloon is a historic saloon in San Francisco, California, located in San Francisco's North Beach. The building, since 1907, housed several different bars and owners. The predecessor being the San Francisco Brewing Company (1985-2012), which is the oldest microbrewery in San Francisco. The bar is named after Henry Comstock and for his Comstock Lode, and is currently owned by Jeff Hollinger and Jonny Raglin, both also bartenders for Absinthe Brasserie & Bar. The bar is preserving most of the building's history, including the interior of the building which has been remained unchanged.

History
The building that houses the Comstock Saloon has been around since the late 19th century, being apart of the Barbary Coast. The earliest known owner was Pigeon-Toed Sal of the Billy Goat Saloon. After the San Francisco earthquake in 1906, the building was rebuilt and has stood since then, housing the Andromeda Saloon in 1907, owned by Jim Griffin. During the Prohibition era, it was renamed to the Andromeda Cafe, which sold alcohol under the guise of 'medicinal purposes'. It was one of the few bars in the United States that stayed after the prohibition.

In 1977, restauranter Sam DuVall acquired the building, renaming it to The Albatross and began renovating the place, buying out the barber shop next door and turning it into the bar's kitchen.

In 1985, Allan Paul acquired the building and established the San Francisco Brewing Company, which was one of the first microbrewery companies in San Francisco.

In 2009, Jeff Hollinger and Jonny Raglin, both owners of the Absinthe Brasserie & Bar, acquired the building to start on the Comstock Saloon project, which Raglin states, "Instead of talking about their drinks and food, we want to try to get people to think about what’s really important in life, like history and life." The Comstock Saloon opened the same year and, since the acquisition, the building was slowly being restored and preserved, saving and keeping the interior as it was unchanged. The Comstock Saloon is under The Absinthe Group, which overlooks Absinthe Brasserie & Bar, Arlequin Wine Merchant, and Spanish-themed bar and restaurant called Bellotta.

On September 15, 2014, a car struck the Comstock Saloon, injuring two patrons, crashing into the side room which was called the 'Monkey Bar', as well as the doors which needed to be rebuilt.

The Comstock Saloon was temporarily closed in March 2020 to 2021 due to the pandemic and stay-at- home orders. After the pandemic, the Comstock Saloon reopened but has since then been reservations only, due to low sales and walk-ins.

Interior
The interior of the Comstock Saloon has remained mostly unchanged since it's rebuilding in 1906. The 18-feet mahogany bar top dates back to the late 1890s. "Punkah" ceiling fans that hung on the roof dates back to the 1910s, only being installed in the 1970s when it was known as The Albatross.

The building, now under the name Comstock Saloon, also operates as a museum, housing the building's history along with the history of being a bar and saloon. Owner Jeff Hollinger describes the setting of Comstock Saloon as a place that shows the history of drinking in San Francisco. The wooden booths and paraphernalia, which were behind glass cases, also defined the bar's personality as vintage and antique.

Notability
The saloon was featured in Anthony Bourdain: The Layover.

Bibliography Notes/References
Reference Article: Original Joe's

Original Article: Comstock Saloon

Comstock Saloon history


 * History of the Comstock Saloon spanned since 1914
 * The Comstock Saloon building has been around supposedly since the 1890s thanks to an old mahogany bar top reaching 18ft
 * The original owner way before the Comstock Saloon, was Jim Griffin, when it was originally called the Andromeda Saloon, in the early 20th century, supposedly around 1907
 * It was near Jim Griffin's gym, which boxers often frequented and in short, became customers of the Andromeda Saloon, with Jack Dempsey, famous heavyweight boxer, helping endorse the Andromeda Saloon.
 * During the Prohibition era, the Andromeda Saloon was aptly titled Andromeda Cafe, and while serving courses and dishes, also sold whiskey under the guise of 'medicinal purposes'
 * On 1924, Jim Griffin was caught illegally selling alcohol, serving 5 years in prison, and eventually the Andromeda Cafe lost steam, leaving the bar top as a lasting reminder of the building
 * Going through different businesses throughout the years since Griffin's arrest, Sam DuVall, the owner of Izzy's Steaks and Chops, acquired the building in 1977 and turned into the Albatross, as well as acquiring the barbershop next door turning it into the building's kitchen.
 * Before the Comstock Saloon opened in 2009, the last owner was the San Francisco Brewing Company, in 1986
 * The Comstock Saloon co-owner, and along with the Absinthe Group, have been restoring the Comstock Saloon's building, now serving as a visual museum of the building's history as a bar and saloon
 * Most of the information is considerably useless as San Francisco Brewing Company already put into detail on it's history, might as well as summarize most of it pretty brief?

Comstock Saloon Plaque


 * Essentially the building's own history written by the San Francisco Brewing Company
 * Before the San Francisco Earthquake in 1906, this building was site of the Billy Goat Saloon, which was owned by Pigeon-Toed Sal.
 * After reconstruction, possibly due to the San Francisco Earthquake, it was known as the Andromeda Saloon
 * Jack Dempsey used to work door at the Andromeda Saloon in 1913.
 * Various decorations such as the 'punkah' ceiling have been around since 1916, and the mahogany bar and others were restored in 1975, which would later be turned into the Albatross Saloon in 1977.
 * Allan Paul later established the San Francisco Brewing Company in 1985, with Fred Zaft creating the copper brew kettle.
 * It is San Francisco's first brew pub, and the nation's fourth brew pub, after the prohibition ended.

Comstock Saloon reopening


 * Comstock Saloon closed during the pandemic since March 2020.
 * Originally going to open during the summer of 2021, pushed back to later October of 2021

Comstock Saloon being acquired by Jeff Hollinger and Jonny Raglin


 * Jeff Hollinger and Jonny Raglin, who are also owners of the Absinthe Brasserie & Bar, began the project of the Comstock Saloon as a sense of community and social space, which Raglin quotes "Instead of talking about their drinks and food, we want to try to get people to think about what’s really important in life, like history and life."
 * The building that Comstock Saloon resides in has been apart of the Barbary Coast, which is described as "San Francisco's rowdy red-light district from the Gold Rush"
 * The atmosphere and the history of the building is remained to be unchanged during the restoration, which creates the feeling of a piece of San Francisco history.

Detailing the interior and atmosphere of the Comstock Saloon [1 ]


 * The interior of the Comstock Saloon has not been replaced since it's acquisition by Jeff Hollinger and Jonny Raglin and since it's restoration, making most of the interior as old as 1907
 * The ambiance has been described as "fun and relaxed...live and happening", as well as coupled with live music.
 * It continued a tradition where free lunch is served with a purchase of two cocktails.
 * The menu that is served at the Comstock Saloon take inspiration and influences from nearby in San Francisco such as Little Italy and Chinatown, to cajun cuisine hailing from New Orleans.

Detailing the interior and atmosphere of the Comstock Saloon [2 ]


 * The interior furnishes a mahogany bar, wooden booths and faded paraphernalia which is behind glass cases, all of which add atmosphere and elements to the building and as a return to the "golden age of cocktails".

More info about Comstock, about the parent companies that it falls under and etc. etc.


 * Comstock Saloon is under The Absinthe Group, which also houses Absinth Brasserie & Bar, Arlequin Cafe, and Arlequin Wine Merchant, as well as Spanish-themed bar and restaurant called Bellotta.

The man, the legend, Anthony Bourdain having an encounter with Comstock Saloon


 * Actually nothing really of note here, just Anthony Bourdain passing by Comstock Saloon to get to Sam's Diner.

Temporal closure of Comstock Saloon after a car crash into the bar in 2014 [1 ]

 [2 ]

Comstock Saloon on its walk-in and reservation struggle
 * On September 15, 2014, a BMW lost control and crashed into the Comstock Saloon, which crashed into the side room, known as the Monkey Bar, as well as the need for the doors to be rebuilt.


 * Anthony Bourdain "no-nonsense, old school bar."
 * Due to less traffic after the COVID pandemic, the Comstock Saloon is considering to move back to making online reservations.
 * Other restaurants in the San Francisco has been struggling as well post-Covid
 * “It seems like we’re kind of crawling our way up from the middle, which is a strange position to be,” Jonny Raglin said. “In the past, you had restaurants that were impossible to get into, then you had your mid-strata restaurants that were busy but not impossible, then your folks struggling to get up into the middle. And right now, it seems like we’re struggling from the middle.”