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Friday Night Beer Blog [1]
['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.']
Date: 2025-06-13
Happy Friday, beer fans! Come in and have a cold one with us!
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I wrote earlier this year about the impending sale of San Francisco’s legendary Toronado beer bar. More recent news is unfortunately about drama rather than a deal being made, when a prospective buyer came by for some press visibility.
Days after would-be buyer Orion Parrott visited the bar with a San Francisco Chronicle reporter and photographer — a visit that devolved into chaos and shouts — current owner Dave Keene’s lawyers told Parrot that the sale was off, supposedly because Parrot didn’t waive “certain contingencies within a given period of time,” the Chronicle reports.
Parrott is described as a “crypto tech bro” and seems to have made a poor impression on the patrons and staff.
The Standard also reported that Parrott planned to launch a ToronadoCash crypto coin, but the reaction from the bar’s regulars was so negative he gave up on the idea
To paraphrase Willie Sutton, you have to go where the money is, and in 21st century San Francisco that means tech bros. As with sports teams, the ideal bar owner has plenty of income from other businesses and isn’t looking for huge profits from this one. Especially a somewhat run down dive that might need deferred maintenance. From a San Franciscan in another blog I won’t link to:
what I understand from a people in the know is that the place needs major upgrades and it won't be easy to find a buyer to just carry the torch. Not at the price they are asking.
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Turning over a legendary place is something I’ve watched firsthand with the Peninsula’s legendary Alpine Inn Beer Garden, and it’s not necessarily a pretty example. Before renovation I described the Alpine Inn as “the crummiest place you’ll ever see a Bentley parked in front of”, and I don’t want to know how much they spent making it less crummy, but the new owners have alienated people who had drunk there since the ‘50s.
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I’m drinking Trader Joe’s Josephsbrau Hefeweizen. I can’t do much better for drinking locally, it’s brewed by Gordon Biersch in the Japantown neighborhood of San Jose, less than 10 miles from me. I have drunk with brewmaster Dan Gordon and you won’t find anyone more committed to doing things Munich style. I might still prefer Paulaner, but this is fresh and local and $6.99/6pack.
I think it’s Maui Waui next. What are you drinking? Anyone brewing?
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