Sunday marks the 167th anniversary of the 7 Mile House bar and restaurant, and they’ll be marking the occasion with $1.67 whiskey shots, free adobo, and a historical presentation of 7 Mile House’s (often criminal) 167-year history.
We’ve noted that Tadich Grill is San Francisco's oldest restaurant, which is certainly true. But Tadich Grill has had three different names, and has been located at three different places (and was originally just a tent that served as a coffee stand). Meanwhile, just about 1,000 feet from the San Francisco border, Brisbane’s 7 Mile House has been operating at the very same location, with the very same name, for the last 167 years.
Now a family-run Filipino-American restaurant and sports bar, 7 Mile House is celebrating its 167th anniversary this Sunday with a full-day blowout of food, booze, and fun. It all starts a 10:30 am history lesson on those 167 years from current owner Vanessa Garcia. “We bribe people by giving them free mimosas and coffee,” Garcia says of the Sunday morning history class.
They’ll also bribe the first 200 people there with free to-go adobo and rice bowls, and $1.67 Jack Daniels shots all day. “The price goes up by a cent every year,” Garcia tells SFist. (Limit two per person, dine-in only). There’s also a $7 Happy Hour from 3 pm-6 pm, and live music from Annie's Alibi at 4 pm.
The name 7 Mile House was no accident when it was established as a restaurant back in 1858. “There were mile houses from San Francisco to San Jose. Mile Zero was in Portsmouth Square in Chinatown,” Garcia explains. “In a carriage or on horseback, it would typically take you nine hours to get from San Francisco to San Jose. You were riding a horse or horses. You had to feed the horse, let them rest, let them have a drink of water. The same with humans.”
She adds that these mile houses of the time “were restaurants, bars, brothels, or pony express stops. 7 Mile House was all of the above.”
And many of the previous 7 Mile House owners and patrons were outlaws. “There was one owner who had an HUI — horseback riding under the influence,” Garcia says. That was Lenny Stooler, who also added claw machines at the 7 Mile House, which were a popular form of gambling in the Gold Rush era. “Figurines in the machine were assigned a dollar amount, so if you put your money in, it represented an amount of money, and you would claim the money at the bar," Garcia explains. What Lenny Stooler did was the figurine with the most value, he had chained it down to the ground.”
“We had owners who transported whiskey during Prohibition,” she adds. “Agents found them transporting a 200-gallon whiskey still and 220 gallons of alcohol.”
In the 1980s, the restaurant was home to the office of illegal gambling kingpin Ron “Cigar” Sacco. “7 Mile House hosted the largest gambling circuit west of the Mississippi under Ron ‘Cigar’ Sacco, who earned a million dollars a month.” Garcia tells us. “Under our former owner Ron Flynn, we actually got raided by the FBI twice. They confiscated $150,000 cash in our very old safe. We still have that safe in our office.”
Though these days, Garcia is married to a Brisbane police officer. “He keeps me from doing anything illegal!” she laughs.
7-Mile House has their anniversary party every year, but next year’s 168th anniversary will be even bigger — literally.
“We’re going to be expanding next door,” Garcia explains, saying they will take over the location of a shuttered adjacent business. “Our plans are to expand there and have an outdoor park-like facility where we can cater to more of our dog-loving family.”
7 Mile House adds in an announcement, “The new outdoor area will allow the restaurant to host bigger dog ‘pawties,’ off-leash days, and provide an enhanced experience for the community. This move is a testament to 7 Mile House’s ongoing commitment to serving both its human and four-legged guests in new and exciting ways.”
The 7 Mile House 167th anniversary is Sunday, February 2, 10:30 am - 9 pm at 2800 Bayshore Boulevard (at Geneva Avenue)
Related: 7 Mile House Celebrates Its 165th Anniversary On Saturday [SFist]
Image: 7 Mile House via Yelp
