Washington Square Bar and Grill
Encyclopedia
The Washington Square Bar and Grill is a landmark restaurant adjoining Washington Square
in San Francisco, California
's North Beach
neighborhood (Powell at Union streets). Known widely as the Washbag, so named by columnist Herb Caen
as a play on words, it was a favorite gathering place for a generation of writers, politicians, musicians, and social elite.
The restaurant was opened in 1973 by local Ed Moose, a former dispatcher
and reporter for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch
, along with partner Sam Dietsch. Moose organized a softball team, the Lapins Sauvages, composed of famous and influential people who were regular restaurant patrons. Caen often wrote of the team's exploits in his newspaper columns, describing its travels to play in major stadiums in various locations around the world. In 1989 author Ron Fimrite, another of the softball team members, wrote The Square: the Story of a Saloon, describing the restaurant's place in San Francisco's cocktail culture.
In 1992 Moose and Dietch opened a larger restaurant, Moose's, on the opposite side of the square. The new restaurant soon took on the same local cultural significance for San Francisco.
The Washbag was sold to new partners in 2000, closed on January 1, 2008, then reopened from March 2, 2009 under new owners, closing in August 2010, the week of Moose's death.<
Washington Square, San Francisco
Washington Square is a park in the North Beach district of San Francisco, California. The popular destination, for both locals and tourists, is surrounded by eating establishments and the Sts. Peter and Paul Church...
in San Francisco, California
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
's North Beach
North Beach, San Francisco, California
North Beach is a neighborhood in the northeast of San Francisco adjacent to Chinatown, Fisherman's Wharf and Russian Hill. The neighborhood is San Francisco's Little Italy, and has historically been home to a large Italian American population. It still holds many Italian restaurants today, though...
neighborhood (Powell at Union streets). Known widely as the Washbag, so named by columnist Herb Caen
Herb Caen
Herbert Eugene Caen was a Pulitzer Prize-winning San Francisco journalistwhose daily column of local goings-on, social and political happenings,...
as a play on words, it was a favorite gathering place for a generation of writers, politicians, musicians, and social elite.
The restaurant was opened in 1973 by local Ed Moose, a former dispatcher
Dispatcher
Dispatchers are communications personnel responsible for receiving and transmitting pure and reliable messages, tracking vehicles and equipment, and recording other important information...
and reporter for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch is the major city-wide newspaper in St. Louis, Missouri. Although written to serve Greater St. Louis, the Post-Dispatch is one of the largest newspapers in the Midwestern United States, and is available and read as far west as Kansas City, Missouri, as far south as...
, along with partner Sam Dietsch. Moose organized a softball team, the Lapins Sauvages, composed of famous and influential people who were regular restaurant patrons. Caen often wrote of the team's exploits in his newspaper columns, describing its travels to play in major stadiums in various locations around the world. In 1989 author Ron Fimrite, another of the softball team members, wrote The Square: the Story of a Saloon, describing the restaurant's place in San Francisco's cocktail culture.
In 1992 Moose and Dietch opened a larger restaurant, Moose's, on the opposite side of the square. The new restaurant soon took on the same local cultural significance for San Francisco.
The Washbag was sold to new partners in 2000, closed on January 1, 2008, then reopened from March 2, 2009 under new owners, closing in August 2010, the week of Moose's death.<