Kennedy’s is Closing. The World’s Most Beloved Irish Pub, Curry House, Video Arcade & Souvenir Stand in One

1040 Columbus Ave, SF

Do you feel like eating curry while drinking Guinness?  How about a Budweiser and some Buckhunter?  Maybe you’re in the market for an ‘I love SF’ fleece, a bike rental and some chicken wings?

Kennedy’s Curry House cuisine

Well, my friend, there is only one spot in the world that could satisfy all those needs at once and it was Kennedy’s Irish Pub & Curry House at the north end of North Beach.  Sadly Kennedy’s is closing this Friday.    Tonight they are having a last blowout on Halloween, with $4 beers.

When I lived in North Beach, some ten years ago, I used to frequent Kennedy’s because they had the finest Guinness on draft in the neighborhood, there was also a nice local crowd, there would be crab fishermen from the wharf drinking their wages, couples from Russian Hill yelling at sports on the television, and North Beach locals who knew a good stout, and a good deal when they saw one.

To pour Guinness well, is not easy.   You need to keep your beer lines clean, and your gas pressure has to be perfectly balanced, and someone who gives a shit needs to pour it too.  Kennedy’s had all three, and never ripped you off on the price either.  All the businesses there were run as a family affair, and the Swami family always seemed to take great pride in their businesses.  The Indian food was always good and affordable too, and whenever someone asked me where they could buy SF souvenirs, I’d always tell them to go around the back of Kennedy’s, because I knew that on their way to buy a red and gold fanny pack, they would undoubtedly witness one of the strangest and most enticing, multiculturalisms in existence.

Cheers to you Kennedy’s, you will be missed.