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For October, we have several special events coming up. This weekend, Stookey's At Your Service will be offering our cocktails at the Alameda Vintage Fashion Faire on Friday, 6-10pm and on Saturday, 12-5pm. At the bar we will be celebrating Cuban Sunday; it's the last weekend to appreciate Jonathan's photos of Cuba. The following weekend, we have a tentative date for local artist David Robertson to showcase his neo -Cubist oil paintings. Finally, to kick-off Halloween weekend we are hosting Nick Rossi and his Moderne Men Thursday; on the final Sunday of the month, "Stookey's Club Macabre" presents authors' Thomas Burchfield and Aimee Pavy sharing excerpts from their creepy and vivid tales of horror. On Hallow's eve we will be screening two versions of the Edgar Allan Poe's The Black Cat, one from 1934, and the other from 1941.
An update on our Kickstarter campaign, whose mission will be to affix a classic streamline neon "Cocktails" sign of the corner of our building ~ as an aside, thanks especially to those of you in attendance recently to film video as well as those who joined the pre-Kickstarter event at the bar ~ We are now waiting on the Department of Building Inspection to give us a thumbs up on the design plans! We hope to have news later this week or next! Stay tuned! Contact Aaron or Solario for more information!
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Thanks for your attention; drop us a line with comments at [email protected] and be sure to swing by for a delicious libation or two! This month's coupon is a 2 cocktails for $20, so make a note of the secret code and swing on in! See you soon!
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What's on Tap at the Club Moderne
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Here are the specifics for October's events!
This weekend: Stookey's At Your Service will be serving vintage cocktails at the Alameda Point Vintage Fashion Faire. More info here: October 14, 6-10pm, & Saturday, October 15, 12-5pm.
October 16 – Cuba Sundays at Club Moderne! Enjoy Cuban Music sipping Cuban Cocktails and take in Jonathan's recent photos of Cuba one more time before they come down October 23.
October 23 (tentative) 2:30-4:30pm – Stookey’s featured artist will be David Robertson. David has an exciting way with oil on canvas ~ in neo - Cubist style. Join us as we celebrate David and his artistic genius!
October 27 – Nick Rossi and his Moderne Men kick off the Halloween weekend with another fabulous evening of moderne jazz of the 1930s. 8-10pm
October 30 - Stookey's Club "Macabre" presents authors' Thomas Burchfield and Aimee Pavy sharing excerpts from their creepy and vivid tales of horror. 2:30-4:30pm.
October 31 - All Hallo's Eve: Stookey's is pleased to screen two versions of "The Black Cat" from 1934 and 1941. With sound if there is sufficient interest, 7:00 & 9:30pm
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Stookey's Bartender - Mr. John Lawton
In our continuing effort to introduce readers to the Team that makes Stookey’s tick, we are putting Stookey’s Club Moderne bartender John Lawton In the Spotlight this month!
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John was born in northwest England near the town of Lancaster where his parents ran a “public house” (commonly known as a “pub”). So to say that tending bar is second nature for John is probably an understatement. Although he was around alcoholic drinks as a child and drinking wasn’t so guilt-ridden in England as it was for “puritan” America, he recalls that, as a lad, he thought alcoholic drinks were disgusting. Later, as he came of age, he did develop a normal taste for booze, but always in moderation….
Around age 25, John came to the U.S. for a visit. Traveling with a friend (“Peter”) his plans were to travel around the States for 6 months and then head down to South America before returning to England. When he arrived in San Francisco, he had so much fun here that he decided that he would stay here before moving on to points South until the fun ran out. He never left!
In his career, John has worked mostly in service — for restaurants as a server and doing Monday morning inventory and as a bartender at the North Beach Jazz Club the “Gathering Cafe” (now defunct).
After several years in San Francisco, he fell in love with an American girl whom he married and started a family. Now with two kids to raise, he switched over from working nights in bars and restaurants and took a job with Bi-Rite in their “logistics” division.
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After 8 years of marriage he and his wife decided to part ways and John took some money he had accumulated and got together with a couple of business partners to open a Belgian Beer Bar and Restaurant in North Beach. Starting up a new business is always a huge challenge, even in the best of circumstances and the efforts put a huge strain on the personal relationships between the partners…. To make a long story short, John ended up leaving the business and went back to bartending.
Since 2008, John has worked at several spots around the City including: Black Cat & Blue Bar, Zam-Zam, and Murio’s. Currently, you can find him behind the “stick” at Gas Head in the Mission, our Neighbor to the East, Bacchus Kirk and, of course our own Stookey’s Club Moderne! We’re sure glad he’s part of our team!
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September was another eventful month at Stookey's Club Moderne: Early in the month we were pleased to be reviving a holiday that used to be celebrated Statewide! The Day of Significance was September 9th, California Admission Day, the day in 1850 that California was admitted into the Union.
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We enjoyed talks and presentations by
various friends and colleagues including Thomas Burchfield, Monica and Eric Hedman, our own Matt Solario and Timothy Stookey! Sara Klotz de Aguilar led us in the singing of "I Love You, California!" and performed many other great songs from her jazz and American songbook!
We especially enjoyed Monica's words, which are included, in part, here:
"My own California combines a childhood split between suburban Orange County and the barrio, University on the ocean, adulthood throughout Los Angeles, holidays in Davis, and now the Bay Area. Each one of these is its own world. And you ask me how to describe this great state in five minutes or less, and I have to tell you, it is very hard and yet very rich with flavor.
We are a state that delights the five senses. I see golden light, and peculiar stripes on the horizon made by smog, and California poppies dancing on the wind, and fruit and produce piled up with the greatest of ease. I see glossy cars, and the Golden Gate at sunset, and weird giant dinosaur statues, and kind, ambitious people who dream and go after those dreams."
A good time was had by all! We will be sure to celebrate this date every year from now on!
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Also very interesting was
Examiner writer, Paul Drexler, who paid us a visit Sunday,
September 25 for another one of our "Stookey's Talks". Drexler is a San Francisco historian who has scoured the microfilm for stories of famous (and infamous) criminals of the 1920s.
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He told stories of car chases and shoot-outs and liberated women who built very "excellent" reputations! Needless to say, the audience was thrilled to learn of the outcomes of these most interesting and notorious of people!
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Thank you Paul, for taking some time to share some of the stories you have researched!
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Featured Cocktail of October
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This is a Cuban cocktail invented in Havana in honor of the Fox Movietone News crew who spent 6 weeks on the island, clearly living large!
This cocktail is based on scotch (odd for the Caribbean where sugarcane is grown in abundance, and Scotland is far way) and was taken from a souvenir pamphlet from the famous Sloppy Joe's Bar:
1 oz. Cutty Sark Scotch
1 oz. Sweet Vermouth
1 oz. Orange Liqueur
1/2 oz. fresh lime juice
6 drops curacao
Add all ingredients to a cocktail shaker. Shake on ice for 20 seconds. Doublestrain into a coupe glass and garnish with a lime wedge.
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Come on down to Stookey's and tell 'em you want the newsletter deal!
Offer good until October 31 (Menu Cocktails only).
Coupon Code: SCModerne
(one coupon per customer per month)
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895 Bush Street @ Taylor
San Francisco, CA 94108
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Phone: 415-771-9695
M-Sat: 4:30pm - 2:00am
Sun: 2:30pm - 12:30am
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