The Summer Place

801 Bush St., S.F.

Thank you, the Summer Place, for staying the course as everything changed around you. The bar, which has permanently closed after being owned by Suzy Gordon for 23 years according to Hoodline, was blocks away from Neiman Marcus, the Apple Store and the rising gallery and theater scene surrounding Union Square. But it remained squarely in classic dive bar San Francisco form, with one of the best pinball setups in the city, affordable drinks and no radical updates to the interior or exterior. (The bar predated Gordon for at least a half century, with classic wood and glass doors, ornate steel detailing, and a rock facade that may need explosives to remove.) We’ll need more bars like this when the pandemic is over, not fewer. RIP the Summer Place.