Wow, this is something I did not see coming. GINGER’S TROIS is back (does that make it Ginger’s Quatre?)! When I worked on Maiden Lane in the ’90s, I used to drink with the downtown hairdressers and the gays who worked with me at our ad agency at this quirky little dive bar on Kearny, with its strong dranks, funky little sunken bar, and parasols galore. It was a total campy hideaway. Future Bars bought and took over Ginger’s in 2008, and then opened Rickhouse in the location, and that was pretty much it for any more divey gay bars in the downtown area. Until now.
Bartender Michael Sedlacek has been with Future Bars for the past few years, and he was a little obsessed with the old Ginger’s sign in storage. He said people who haven’t been to the city in a long time would come by and ask where Ginger’s went, and even though he never went to the bar, he had an interest in it. So when Future Bars asked the team what they should do to convert the underutilized event space downstairs (Keeper’s Share), he pitched them on reopening Ginger’s. So that’s what we’ve got: a queer bar has returned to the FiDi, and almost everyone on staff is LGBT (except one person).
The cocktail menu pays homage to defunct SF gay bars, like Esta Noche and the Lexington (RIP!), and the drinks are approachable and just $9. Here’s hoping they bring the boozy cherries back. (Maybe not. LOL.) There are two wells at the bar and about 8-9 tables, plus some lounge seating and a pool table. You enter the bar on Hardie (yay, an alley entrance)—it’s actually the delivery entrance for their commissary, also downstairs. Doors open at 5pm Thu-Sat (will expand soon), until close. 86 Hardie Pl. at Kearny. [H/t to Eater for the great news.]
