Cool As Huck: Tales From 33 Years At 'The Saloon,' North Beach's Oldest Watering Hole

Cool As Huck: Tales From 33 Years At 'The Saloon,' North Beach's Oldest Watering HoleThe Saloon has been open since 1851. | Photo: Dan DeLuca/Flickr
Joe Bonadio
Published on April 28, 2017

In a town full of legendary dive bars, North Beach has more than its fair share. But when it comes to music, history and pure attitude, one neighborhood barroom has no peer: The Saloon, which opened in 1861.

A big part of the vibe comes from the bartenders, most of whom have been slinging drinks here for years. Huck Pease, a wiry guy with an easy smile and a distinctive gray ponytail, has been behind the bar since 1984.

He recently sat down with Hoodline to share a few of his most memorable moments at The Saloon.

Huck Pease behind the bar at The Saloon.

How did you get the gig?

They needed a doorman, and they knew me. So I started working at the door. Then they found out I used to bartend at the Coffee Gallery. Next thing you know, I’m doing some afternoons, and by ’85 I was pretty much behind the bar, with Jules, and Jay…

Jules and Jay?

Yeah, Jules is still around, you’ve probably seen him filling in once in a while. Jay, he and I used to work Sundays together. We called it "the Huck & Jay Show." The first thing we’d do, he’d pour his shot, I’d pour mine, we’d say, “let’s roll it,” and bang, do our shots. Showtime! We had a great time. We would try to really entertain our guests.

What happened to Jay?

Jay said, “you know something, Huck? I’m gonna find some real rich girl, and marry her.” So, he found this one girl, she’s a lawyer, her father was on the Supreme Court in New York. Married her, has two kids, moved back east, you know. 

It’s funny, they moved to New Jersey, bought a house there. And there are only two dry counties in New Jersey–and she picked a house there! (laughs) 

Huck in 2009. | Photo: Yelp

You used to have morning hours years ago, right?

Yeah, not anymore. The reason you had bars that opened at 6am, is you had graveyard shifts. There’d be people lined up at 6 because they’d just gotten off work. 

One time I came in to follow Liam at noon, there’s six people there, four of them were already 86’d. And every one’s got four down glasses in front of him! I went, “OK guys, we’re closing!” They all said, "hey, what do you mean you’re closing? What about our down glasses?" I told them, "Liam will remember you, come back tomorrow. "

(Editor’s note: "86" refers to customers on a do-not-serve list, while a "down glass" means a patron has another round coming.

They all left, and fifteen minutes later I opened up and started all over again! There is no way I’m going to start with six wasted drunks with four down glasses in front of them. No way.

What’s the most notable 86 in your memory?

Ah, god. Gregory Korso, the beat poet. He was 86’d on my shift.

Really?

Man, by the time he hit our bar, he was so fucked up he couldn’t walk. Then Terrible Terry, he was another one. He would come in all tore up, bottle of booze sticking out of his pocket, and I would say, “don’t even try it, Terry.” Then this one day, Jack Baker came in, and he’s got a bullwhip.

Jack Baker? 

He’s another guy used to work here. Anyway, he’s got this big ‘ol bullwhip. So I asked him, "you any good at it?" He says, “yeah, I’m good at it.” 

So there’s Terry outside. I say, “Hey Terry. I’ll buy you a beer, but only if you do this.” Jack says to him, “put this cigarette in your mouth, light it, put your hands behind your back. And I’m going to snap that cigarette out of your mouth.” Terry said no at first, then finally went along with it. 

So there’s Terry, he’s got the cigarette in his mouth and Jack’s yelling at him to hold still. Terry says, “this is worth two beers!” OK, I say, you get two beers. So Jack snaps that whip, BANG! Right out of his mouth. Jack was from Texas. Terry yells —Jesus, I can still hear the crack in my ears—"where’s my beer?”

And then says, “But first, I’ve got to go to the bathroom.”

Come on!

OK, here’s one last one. Grant Street Fair, busy as hell, and I get this older couple. They have a drink, order another. Just as I’m getting their tab, this younger chick comes flying in the door, screaming and yelling, and I’ve got to stop to get her out of there. 

I come back to the couple, and they ask me for their change. I say I gave it to them already, and the guy says, “no, I gave you a fifty.” I said, “no you didn’t,” because I knew damn well he gave me a twenty. But I could have made a mistake, so I ended up giving him the change. And at the end of the night, of course I’m short. They hustled me. So, I figured it out: it was a team. The older couple, with the girl as a distraction.

So about five years later, this same motherfucker comes in! Different older lady with him, and here comes a different young chick flying in the door, and again he says “I gave you a fifty.” I said, "oh yeah?" I grabbed his glass and said, “I remember you from five years ago!”

He looks at me and says, oh! I did this to you before?” I say, “You’re damn right! Get the hell out of here.” He looks at me. “You’re not gonna call the cops?” and I told him no, but he wasn’t getting any drinks, and I was keeping his twenty.

“You can’t do that,” he says. So I told him, “OK, you call the cops, then. And by the way, I got your fingerprints on this glass back here.” I don’t think I saw him again after that.

The Saloon (415-636-5204) is located at 1232 Grant Ave. and is open daily from noon until 2am.