The Lush

Another gay dive bar bites the dust: according to SFist, scruffy Mission gay bar TRUCK is closing. Owner Paul Ringhofer-Miller has owned the place for eight years and says he is looking forward to planning events elsewhere, including at the Russian River. The exact closing date is yet to be…

LOCAL BREWING CO., a new brewery from Regan Long and Sarah Fenson, is now open on Bluxome Street in SoMa. As Lessley Anderson noted in The Chronicle, Local Brewing, which opened last Tuesday, is one of the only breweries in San Francisco where women are brewing the beer. Long and…

Some breaking bar news: Pete Mrabe (of Chubby Noodle and Don Pisto’s notoriety) is the new owner of AMANTE in North Beach. He was already operating Chubby Noodle in there, but will be changing the menu format since Chubby Noodle is moving to the former Pisto’s Tacos space…

Join NICO and wine importer Martine Saunier (founder of Martine’s Wines), plus current president Greg Castells, on Thursday June 4th for a screening of the new film A Year in Champagne and a special four-course dinner. Oh, and maybe some Champagne too (of course). The film spotlights Saunier as…

South San Francisco is about to get a new brewery (well, kind of), called ARMSTRONG BREWING. The brewery is actually moving to a new location on Grand Avenue, after several years brewing in a location that closed last year. The new space is opening this summer, hopefully at the end…

Opening tonight on Polk Street (previously Uno Dos Tacos) is HOUSE RULES, a Russian Hill bar and restaurant from Rick Howard and Noelle Calixto (Campus in the Marina and Eddie Rickenbacker’s in the FiDi). Chef Scott Youkilis (Hog & Rocks) is behind the menu, which includes bar bites, plus…

A report by associate editor Dana Eastland. ~GASPAR BRASSERIE~ just celebrated their first anniversary, and to celebrate they are relaunching the upstairs bar, The Cognac Room, which offers a wide selection of brandy, Cognac, Armagnac, Calvados, eau-de-vie, pisco, and grappa. They’ve brought on lead bartender John Codd to create…

This Friday May 29th, head to the FERRY PLAZA WINE MERCHANT for a night of tasting Hitachino Nest beers. The special tasting runs from 4:30pm to 7:30pm, and importer Michael Hartman will be on hand, talking about the beers and sharing limited-edition pours. The special flight for the…

After 17 years of business downtown, THE BUBBLE LOUNGE has closed. Scoop reports that owner Eric Benn plans to keep the space and reopen it with a different concept. The lounge opened in late 1997 and has been serving Champagne and sparkling wine ever since. They have a full liquor…

Last week I swung by the newly opened RESOLUTE, a new wine (and beer) bar and shop that opened right next door to Rye in the TenderNob. Owners Justin Beem and Daniel Brooker (previously at wine shop Vin Debut) are fired up to offer hard-to-find wines from tiny wineries, excellent…