Rain Check

Tonight I met some friends at California Wine Merchant on Chestnut Street. Though this wine bar has only been open a few years, it is an old haunt of mine. You see, I lived in San Francisco's Marina district in the early 1990s, and during that time I frequented Danny's at 2113 Chestnut Street more than any other bar.

Back then, Danny's was a classic San Francisco dive bar; long bar, one pool table and a dusty old juke box. Most people smoked and you'd see a greater than average number of handicapped folks there. Why did I go? Maybe it was because I lived stumbling distance away. Or perhaps it was for the colorful bartenders, Sherrelle and Clyde. One thing for sure, it wasn't for asshole owner, Jay, or the hot chicks. There were no chicks.

Danny's probably suffered more than any other bar after the California smoking ban passed, and shortly thereafter the place closed. That's when the California Wine Merchant moved in.

The place has changed, but not dramatically. Sure, the smoke has cleared and women outnumber men, but the same old bar that used to support scotch and waters now allows patrons to rest their wine glasses. The pool table has been replaced with an off-sale wine stock, but a pair of restrooms still sit upstairs.

When I mentioned to the owner, Greg O'Flynn, that I still had a few rain checks from my days at Danny's entitling me to free drinks, he told me to bring them in and he'd honor them. Then he asked me to follow him to the back of the store where he opened the door to the alley. Written in lipstick on the wall was, "Long Live Danny's."

Amen.