Lone Star Saloon

Opened in 1989 serving beer, wine, and microwaved sake without a liquor license, the Lone Star was started by Rick Redewill for working-class men who felt more at home in SoMA than the Castro. After the Loma Prieta earthquake destroyed the original Howard Street site six months later, it relocated to Harrison Street, where its rambling rooms and nooks drew patrons from the leather bar across the street, merging biker and leather crowds with the growing bear scene. Today, the saloon is owned by two longtime bartenders.