In a day and age when authentic downtown dive bars have fallen by the wayside, it always felt like the Gold Dust Lounge's days were numbered. Inside Scoop confirmed on Friday that the historic Union Square watering hole received an eviction notice in December.
Gold Dust's owner Tasios Bovis (brother to Lefty O'Doul's owner Jimmy Bovis) told Inside Scoop that although he has three years left on his lease, he was given a three-month timeline, making the bar's close date in March. Bovis said that the landlord reportedly wants to develop the space as part of a "larger building development for a big Chicago-based clothing company." How novel.
The Gold Dust was established in 1933 and has been in the Bovis family since 1965. According to SFist Jay, the location has been a continually operating Union Square watering hole since about 1906.
Bovis told Eat Drink Explore Media that he plans to fight the eviction, and he's encouraging Gold Dust fans to help him keep it open. As Bovis told the Scoop, “Write to the newspaper, write to the TV station, write to City Hall.” Who knows, it seems to have worked for the Tonga Room.
So show your support and head over for some $3 glasses of champagne, beers, and margaritas — or better yet, get an Italian Boilermaker — while befriending that delightful couple from Hoboken to the sounds of Johnny Z and the Camaros and the cable cars whizzing passed.
