Dining

North Beach Trouble

Black Eye for Black Cat; Good Help?; Take the J Train

A A A Comments By Harry Coverte Wednesday, Aug 16 2000

Black Eye for Black Cat
Reed Hearon's troubled North Beach spot, the Black Cat, would like to keep this quiet, but according to a police incident report obtained by Side Dish, the restaurant's former general manager Shannon O'Brien is alleged to have brutally raped a female job applicant in the men's bathroom off the downstairs Blue Bar. The report says the victim had been called in for a job interview for a bartender or hostess position; after she'd had several drinks in the bar another employee directed her to join O'Brien in the bathroom, where patrons were apparently present outside the stall in which the GM allegedly raped and sodomized the woman. SFPD officials continue to investigate and have not said whether charges will be filed. O'Brien was not available for comment; a representative of the restaurant would say only that O'Brien no longer works there.

Location Info

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Rose Pistola

532 Columbus (at Green)
San Francisco, CA 94133

Category: Restaurant > Italian

Region: North Beach/ Chinatown

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Good Help?
Hearon's other North Beach room, Rose Pistola, is having troubles of a different sort. Hard on the heels of the departure of John O'Neill for Restaurant LuLu and a new philosophy statement, two bartenders and four waiters have recently jumped the lucrative ship. But the tension reached a peak two Fridays ago, when Peter Birmingham, former Pistola and current Elisabeth Daniel manager, entered the restaurant. He headed directly for the bar and slapped bartender Stephen Cahill upside the head. Seems Cahill had quit Elisabeth Daniel two nights earlier, leaving that operation in a tight spot -- and the now permanently 86'd Mr. Birmingham a teensy bit miffed. Birmingham has since apologized for his unseemly actions.

Take the J Train
Decent food in Glen Park? No kidding. Co-chefs Gaines Dobbins, former Cyberchef at CookExpress.com, and Ritchie Rosen, chef at Florio, have paired with Joseph Kowal and John Bedard (who own Borage Floral Design) to create Chenery Park Restaurant. The florists couldn't find any restaurants in their neighborhood, so they decided to make their own. Look for an October opening for this casual comfort food spot. The space, in a former piz-zeria, will seat about 85 with a full bar and will feature goodies like fried chx, braised meats, and pork chops on the homey menu. And don't be surprised if there are a lot of flowers in this park.

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