4146 18th Street
San Francisco, Califonia 94114
(415) 621-2811
ToadHallBar.com

Status: LGBT Bar

Previously: The Pendulum, Honey Bucket, I-Do-Know

In Their Own Words: Come check us out. Nice atmosphere – friendly staff – outdoor patio – San Francisco’s Best Happy Hour “2 for 1 Cocktails” Monday-Friday ’til 8:30 PM.

History

Summary

Name	Dates of Operation
Toad Hall	2009 – present
The Pendulum	1971 – 2005
Honey Bucket	1969 – 1971
I-Do-Know	1967 – 1969

Details

In 1967, Mart’s Place, an old bar catering to “crusty old Scandinavians,” according to Randy Shilts’ The Mayor of Castro Street, became I-Do-Know, the second gay bar in the Castro neighborhood after the Missouri Mule. (If the neighborhood is considered to extend far enough down Market Street, Libra also opened in 1967 at 1884 Market Street.)

The bar then became the Honey Bucket in 1969 after it was purchased by business partners Rade “Rod” Kobila Ratkovic (who went by Rod Kobila) and Michael Frowley. Kobila was born in Doli, Dubrovnik, Croatia in 1938 before moving to the United States in 1958, settling in San Francisco in 1964 and becoming a U.S. citizen in 1983. Though straight, Kobila was a longtime supporter of the gay community and a heavy contributor to AIDS research, the Special Olympics, and the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

In 1971, the bar became the Pendulum, the first gay bar in the neighborhood to cater to African American gay men and their admirers. The bar later annexed the next door pet shop, Accent on Pets, when it closed, doubling the bar’s size.

In 2004, Les Natali, who owned Badlands and the Detour, sought to buy the Pendulum. The move spurred accusations that Natali discriminated against minorities at Badlands by asking them to show multiple forms of identification and by failing to serve them at the bar. The group, which initially called themselves IsBadlandsBad.com before changing their name to And Castro For All (AC4A), filed complaints with the San Francisco Human Rights (HRC) Commission and the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) against Badlands and also protested the transfer of the Pendulum to Natali. The official filing included 32 allegations of discrimination from eight complainants.

At the same time, the Pendulum sale was disputed by John MacNeil and his business partner, Gail Irwin, who claimed that Kobila had violated a verbal agreement to sell the bar to them when he accepted a better offer from Natali.

After a 10 month investigation involving interviews with more than 60 people, the 11-member HRC issued a report found 13 of the 32 complaints to be valid. Natali disputed the charges, arguing that the allegations were based on misunderstandings from people asked to leave because of being overly intoxicated or on drugs, not because of their race. Though the HRC didn’t have power to issue sanctions against the bar since it was not a city contractor, its report could be used by the Entertainment Commission to revoke the bar’s dance license.

The ABC conducted their own investigation, including interviewing witnesses and conducting undercover investigations. In July of 2005, the ABC announced that they were not able to substantiate the allegations and closed their investigation. Had they found against Natali, he could have lost his liquor licenses for all of his bars.

The ABC nevertheless required that as conditions for his liquor license for the Pendulum that he post signs at the door announcing that the bar does not discriminate, and that his employees complete a discrimination training course. At first, it appeared that the conditions would be moot, since Natali was in negotiations to sell the bar to MacNeil. They continued to jointly operate the bar while the negotiations proceeded.

Natali and MacNeil closed the Pendulum for renovations in August of 2005. The move was protested by AC4A, who saw it as further evidence of Natali’s alleged racism, though Pendulum staff said that they had been told about the necessary renovations many months earlier and had been granted severance packages ranging from $500 to $5,000, depending on their length of service. Some were offered employment at Badlands.

For a time, Magnet, a health agency for gay men, attempted to fill the void for African American gay men by holding a monthly mixer. The Edge, across the street from the old Pendulum, also started Soulful Thursdays for a time, a night meant to attract more African Americans.

In January of 2006, after a 19-month fight, Natali and AC4A complainants reached a settlement that remains confidential, but both sides expressed happiness with the resolution. With the complainants withdrawing their charges, the Entertainment Commission dropped their investigation of Badlands and approved Natali’s entertainment permit for the Pendulum, still closed for renovations.

Natali proceeded to sue the HRC to rescind its report against Badlands, but the courts threw out the suit on the grounds that the report hadn’t been formally adopted by the HRC despite being publicly released. MacNeil and Irwin’s suit against Natali was also dismissed after the parties reached a settlement that left Natali with the Pendulum and MacNeil and Irwin with the Detour’s old liquor license.

The bar remained shuttered much longer than originally expected. Signage went up calling it the 18th Street Bar with a rainbow awning. But although Natali had announced that it would reopen in December of 2007, the date came and went while the bar remained closed.

In January of 2008, Gus Van Sant came to the Castro to begin filming his feature film Milk, a biographic film about Harvey Milk starring Sean Penn as the assassinated gay rights leader and James Franco as his lover, Scott Smith. Much of the Castro was renovated to appear as it had in the ’70s. One scene takes place at Toad Hall, a gay hippie dance bar that had been on Castro Street. (It was later the Phoenix and is now part of Walgreen’s.) The façade of 440 Castro was redone to appear like Toad Hall. The film was released in November of 2008, ultimately earning a Best Actor Oscar for Penn and a Best Original Screenplay Oscar for Dustin Lance Black.

Perhaps trying to capitalize on the publicity the film might bring, Natali renamed the still-closed 18th Street Bar to be Toad Hall in July of 2008, four months before the film was released. He claims, though, that the change was in the works long before he knew about the movie and was instead based on his own fond memories of the original bar which he used to frequent but had no business connection with other than as a customer.

But plans to tie the reopening of his Toad Hall with the release of Milk also fizzled.

Toad Hall finally reopened on February 26, 2009, two and a half years after closing for remodeling. It’s one of the few gay bars in the Castro to have a smoking patio.

Sources

Bajko, Matthew S., “ABC upholds Natali’s liquor license,” Bay Area Reporter, August 4, 2005.

Bajko, Matthew S., “Court dismisses Pendulum lawsuit,” Bay Area Reporter, April 6, 2006.

Bajko, Matthew S., “Film crew descends on Castro,” Bay Area Reporter, January 24, 2008.

Bajko, Matthew S., “Levi’s, Jet bar projects win approvals,” Bay Area Reporter, July 10, 2008.

Bajko, Matthew S., “New year brings Castro bar changes,” Bay Area Reporter, January 8, 2009.

Bajko, Mattew S., “Pendulum closing sparks protests,” Bay Area Reporter, August 4, 2005.

Bajko, Matthew S., “Pendulum deal collapses,” Bay Area Reporter, September 15, 2005.

Berton, Justin, “A new gathering spot for Castro’s black gays,” San Francisco Chronicle, June 24, 2007.

Laird, Cynthia, “Former Pendulum bar owner dies,” Bay Area Reporter, February 14, 2008.

“Milking the Castro’s Queer History,” The Advocate, November 12, 2008,

Mister Marcus, “American Brotherhood Weekend revival,” Bay Area Reporter, July 10, 2008.

“The rebirth of Toad Hall,” Big Gay Frat House Blog, February 26, 2009.

Shilts, Randy, The Mayor of Castro Street: The Life & Times of Harvey Milk, St. Martin’s Press, 1982.

Uncle Donald’s Castro Street

Location

4146 18th Street, San Francisco