The Hanson name now graces the window of Skipjack Sushi on Union Street too.
A scathing article in this morning's Guardian nicely encompasses the situation on Larkin Street between the fading John Barleycorn Pub and controversial entrepreneur Luisa Hanson. Of note is the fact that Hanson, who one interviewee indirectly calls "a mean nut," has obtained over 22 business licenses in the past two decades, despite having the strong majority close within two years or never open at all (full list here); as we can tell, two are open now. Hanson has also experienced her fair share of litigation over that time:
One case, brought against Hanson in 2003 by the former owners of her Marina restaurant, alleged that she agreed to a purchase but then withheld payments in hopes of forcing a better deal when the sellers grew desperate. According to the suit, the "alleged secret intent" of Hanson "constitutes an intentional misrepresentation, deceit, or concealment of a material fact that has caused injury" to the former owners. A judge ruled against Hanson and demanded that she pay the plaintiffs $183,674.Unfortunately for the Barleycorn, the only thing that anyone—including the government itself—can do is prolong the process. In other words, it's only a matter of time before that restaurant takes over. But with sites like Save the Barleycorn and Luisa Confidential in full swing, we can't imagine much success for the Hanson restaurant that takes over the corner of California and Larkin.
· John Barleycorn must die [SFBG]
· List of Restaurants [Luisa Confidential]
· Save the Barleycorn [Official Site]
· The Shutter: SF Dive Bars Diving Rather Quickly [~ESF~]
· Hey, A Wine Bar in the Marina! Or, the Luisa Hanson Empire Grows [~ESF~]
