The Edge, across the street from the old Pendulum, also started Soulful Thursdays for a time, a night meant to attract more African Americans. Some were offered employment at Badlands.įor 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 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. Natali and MacNeil closed the Pendulum for renovations in August of 2005. They continued to jointly operate the bar while the negotiations proceeded. At first, it appeared that the conditions would be moot, since Natali was in negotiations to sell the bar to MacNeil.
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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. Had they found against Natali, he could have lost his liquor licenses for all of his bars. In July of 2005, the ABC announced that they were not able to substantiate the allegations and closed their investigation. The ABC conducted their own investigation, including interviewing witnesses and conducting undercover investigations. 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. 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. The official filing included 32 allegations of discrimination from eight complainants.Īt 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.Īfter 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. The group, which initially called themselves 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 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. In 2004, Les Natali, who owned Badlands and the Detour, sought to buy the Pendulum. The bar later annexed the next door pet shop, Accent on Pets, when it closed, doubling the bar’s size. In 1971, the bar became the Pendulum, the first gay bar in the neighborhood to cater to African American gay men and their admirers. 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. 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.
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. (If the neighborhood is considered to extend far enough down Market Street, Libra also opened in 1967 at 1884 Market Street.) 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. Nice atmosphere – friendly staff – outdoor patio – San Francisco’s Best Happy Hour “2 for 1 Cocktails” Monday-Friday ’til 8:30 PM. Previously: The Pendulum, Honey Bucket, I-Do-Know