Best Bar Owners

The bar business isn't an easy one, especially for bars that put on live events. The profit margins are slim, the crowds are fickle, and the noise limits are exacting. It's no wonder that many club owners are so miserable. Not so the proprietors of the Rickshaw Stop. Certainly, it helps that Christopher White and Waldo Williams are new to the game, having opened their Hayes Valley venue in January 2004. So far, the bar has hosted DJ dance parties, indietronic band gigs, an Indian wedding, the Quirkyalone Valentine's Day shindig, National Novel Writing Month's wrap party, and a ton of birthday parties. Throughout, the owners have proven amenable to all of their clients' whims -- hoisting banners and furniture to the ceiling, moving monitors and DJ equipment throughout the two stories, and making themed drink and dinner specials. Here's hoping that the nightclub business doesn't ruin White's and Williams' high spirits -- we need more entrepreneurs like them.