20+-year-old North Beach icon Kennedy's Irish Pub & Curry House is calling it quits on Thursday, and San Francisco can chalk up yet another loss of a quirky, multi-cultural mashup of a mainstay.
The Chronicle reports on the sad news following a Facebook post that gives fans of the bar just two days' notice to come on down and have one last pint and a pakora. "One last blowout! Come see us this Halloween, $4 beers of everything we have as we celebrate & mourn our last day in business. Kennedy's in ClosingðŸ˜. Please share to friends so they can get one final hug from Brahma. Come drink us dry!" No details have been given about the reason for the closure.
Kennedy's is owned by Brahmabuta Swami, and as the Chronicle's Paolo Lucchesi writes, "it held the distinct title as the city’s premier combination Irish pub/Indian restaurant/bike rental/pool hall and souvenir T-shirt shop."
The bar went through a few changes over the years, most recently adding craft beers to its offerings (which used to be just Guinness and Bud). As Swami told the Chronicle back in 2000, he named the place "Kennedy's" in honor of John F. Kennedy, who he said "made great strides in bringing people together from all walks of life."
At its location at 1040 Columbus Avenue, at the intersection of Francisco, Kennedy's also bridged the invisible divide between North Beach, Russian Hill, and Fisherman's Wharf, marking it with the kind of bar oddity that only San Francisco could produce.
Here's hoping that whatever replaces it is just as charming and strange, but hopes are not high.
