Friday, October 30, 2009

In My Neighborhood

Mayes

When I first moved into my neighborhood, twenty-mumble-something years ago, this was the oldest continuously operated restaurant in San Francisco. Mayes Oyster House served so-so seafood and catered to a decidedly older, more moneyed clientele. It closed down about ten or fifteen years ago, then reopened as Axum, serving Ethiopian cuisine. That didn't last. It then got an extensive makeover by Myles O'Reilly, an Irishman who owns a popular Irish pub in North Beach, and opened as the Holy Grail. Despite a good kitchen, a beautiful interior with lots of stained glass imported from Dublin and tons of money being poured into it over the course of a few years, Myles couldn't make a go of it and finally shut it down. It then reopened as something else very briefly (it was so short that I can't even remember what it was called), and shut down again just as quickly. Now there's a sign on the door saying it is going to open soon as Mayes once more. We'll see.

Great sign, though, don't you think?

5 comments:

E-6 said...

Great sign, indeed. Nice shot of it, too.

ahab said...

Fabulous sign. So it stayed put throughout the building changing hands?

Tom Hilton said...

Definitely a swell sign, and a nice shot.

Generik said...

Thanks!

Yeah, for a time it was covered up, mainly when it was known as Axum. But since then it's been uncovered and left where it is. It wasn't always lit up in the interim, though lately it seems to be every night. I do hope the new owners are successful, as it's a great sign and a really nice place inside.

Donna said...

beautiful.