Haight Street Bar Owner Accused of Hitting Employee at Nearby Store With Baseball Bat

The owner of Mad Dog in the Fog and two other Haight Street bars was booked into jail after he allegedly attacked an employee at a nearby store several hours after the two were involved in a confrontation over a parking spot.

The confrontation began Friday outside Further, a Grateful Dead-themed clothing store at 1580 Haight Street, a few doors down from Mad Dog in the Fog. As the SF Standard reports, a Further employee had been waiting for a parking space so he could unload a van when Hackett allegedly tried to pull his white BMW into the spot.

Cellphone video reportedly shows Hackett backing into the van, followed by a heated exchange with the employee and people who had gathered nearby. A friend of the employee can be heard telling Hackett, “You hit my friend, you jackass.”

The standoff eventually ended when a friend of the Further employee took the parking space, and the people involved went their separate ways, according to the Standard.

About eight hours later, the employee and a friend were inside the store watching television after Further had closed for the night, when Hackett allegedly returned carrying a baseball bat.

Surveillance footage shows a man who appears to be Hackett forcing his way through the door and striking something with the bat before grabbing a jacket from a clothing rack. An employee then chases him out of the store.

A source told the Standard that Hackett allegedly hit the employee in the leg, which wasn’t captured in the surveillance footage, before getting back into his car and attempting to leave. People nearby intervened, while the employee called 911. One person blocked Hackett’s car until police arrived.

Hackett, 63, was reportedly booked into jail at 1:17 am Saturday on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon other than a firearm and second-degree robbery, according to the San Francisco Sheriff’s Office and jail records.

Hackett has reportedly owned Mad Dog in the Fog and Kezar Pub for around two decades, and he recently took over the liquor license for longtime Haight Street dive bar Murio’s Trophy Room through a company he controls.

Redditors describe Hackett as having a longstanding reputation for being unpleasant to deal with, with some saying they were unsurprised by the allegations.

Several said they had stopped patronizing his businesses because of their experiences with him as well as his support for Trump — Mad Dog in the Fog hosted a presidential debate watch party attended by nearly 200 Trump supporters in 2024. 

By contrast, Further, which reportedly opened in February, embodies the Haight-Ashbury's hippie, community-focused legacy. 

The Standard reports that a felony conviction could give the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control grounds under state law to suspend or revoke Hackett's liquor licenses.

Mad Dog in the Fog was recently the focus of a huge block party hosted by local band Train, who named its latest album after the bar.

Related: Train to Perform on Haight Street Outside Mad Dog In the Fog For Album Release Party Today