New York Daily News

Famed doorman hanging up his hat

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Another bit of old, quirky San Francisco will be no more when Tom Sweeney finally hangs up his white pressed collar and signature Beefeater jacket this weekend after more than four decades of opening doors at the Sir Francis Drake Hotel downtown.

Sweeney has taken the luggage of movie stars and shaken hands with every U.S. president from Gerald Ford to Barack Obama. Visitors from around the world have had their photos taken with him, often after he’s told them where to catch the cable car and how to get to Fisherman’s Wharf.

“It’s one of the best jobs in San Francisco,” says Sweeney, 62, as a cable car clanks by. “Working outside a landmark hotel, cable cars come by every nine minutes, it doesn’t get much better than that.”

The man known as a “San Francisco original” and “living landmark” retires Sunday after 43 years in a changed city. San Francisco continues to grapple with homelessne­ss, aggressive panhandlin­g and vehicle break-ins even as some residents have become wealthier amid a tech boom. The hospitalit­y industry has also changed dramatical­ly, making Sweeney a throwback to an era when doormen hailed cabs and wrangled wheel-less suitcases.

Today, most people hail rides via smartphone, and hardly anyone carries cash for tips.

In his final week on the job, Sweeney stood guard outside the Sir Francis Drake, near Union Square, in his elaborate British-style Beefeater jacket and knickers, red socks pulled to the knees and black hat decorated with red and white flowers.

The 1928 hotel, named for the Elizabetha­n-era English explorer, has the costumes for its doormen custommade. Sweeney’s latest goldand black-trimmed suit cost $3,000 and weighs about 40 pounds.

He tags luggage, waves to cable car passengers and grins for photos. Every now and then, Sweeney shoots his signature move: a finger snap accompanie­d by an “Oh, yeah.”

“I love your hat,” says a boy checking into the hotel with his family.

“I love the flowers around it,” says his sister, carrying a glittery pink backpack and a doll.

Jennifer Emperador, a 39year-old hotel concierge at Fisherman’s Wharf, stopped by after her shift, determined to take a photo with Sweeney before he’s gone. She lamented the loss of another fixture in a city where beloved businesses have shut down because of rising rents and changing consumer tastes. Luxury retailer Gump’s, for example, closed its downtown doors in 2018, although new ownership may revive the store.

“It’s almost like, ‘What else is leaving in San Francisco?’ ” she said. “It’s just not the same.”

Sweeney is not the hotel’s only Beefeater doorman, although he is the best-known and the longest-lasting doorman in a city with about 100 of them. The San Francisco Chronicle toasted his 40th year on the job on its front page; he has his own plaque on the sidewalk in front of the hotel.

The third-generation San Franciscan never dreamed he’d make such a mark impersonat­ing a British guard when he took the job at 19 because his mother knew the hotel’s general manager and they needed a doorman for the summer.

He fell in love with the job, and San Francisco treated him like royalty.

Then-Mayor Dianne Feinstein honored him with a special award in 1982 after he tackled — in full costume — two robbers fleeing with stolen suitcases. The other “Nick of Time” award winners that year were San Francisco 49ers quarterbac­k Joe Montana and nimblefing­ered receiver Dwight Clark for their role in “The Catch,” which led to the team’s first Super Bowl win.

At his San Francisco home, Sweeney stores news clippings, Beefeater memorabili­a from fans, and previous costumes — he’s had 46, one for every year plus some spares. The term “Beefeater” may refer to the guards who taste-tested food for French kings, or to the Beefeaters who still stand guard at the Tower of London, allegedly paid in beef chunks at one point.

“The homeless problem is out of control, car break-ins, we never saw that growing up here,” he said. “It’s just so sad to see this happening.”

Sweeney has been working since he was 14, selling soda alongside Tom Hanks at the Oakland Coliseum. He’s up for spending more time with his wife, Cindy, a hospitalit­y executive whom he chatted up at a cable car stop about a quarter-century ago, and their four grandchild­ren.

Outside the hotel, cable car training instructor Tsombe Wolfe hopped off for his own photo with Sweeney.

“Tom’s the guy. Man, he’s the staple,” he says. “He’s an ambassador to the city, just like the cable cars.”

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 ??  ?? Tom Sweeney, famed doorman at the Sir Francis Drake Hotel in San Francisco, is retiring after 43 years.
Tom Sweeney, famed doorman at the Sir Francis Drake Hotel in San Francisco, is retiring after 43 years.

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