Tosca Due in Early Fall, Won't Be Taking Reservations

It's been a month since the closing of Tosca Café, and the iconic, Sean Penn-approved North Beach bar is undergoing some heavy renovation at the hands of new operators Ken Friedman and April Bloomfield of Spotted Pig and The Breslin fame. Today the Chron catches up with Friedman about some of the details taking shape for the coming restaurant/bar, like what stays and what goes.

The six red booths in back will be staying, but as Friedman discussed earlier he'll be recovering them with real leather. The murals are getting a museum-quality restoration; the jukebox stays, albeit with a new sound system. The kitchen, which hadn't been used since the 1950s, is getting totally rebuilt. Meanwhile the phone booth in the center of the bar, and Jeannette Etheredge's office, will become a new walk-in refrigerator, but the doors to the booth and office will remain for nostalgia's sake. As Friedman says, "We bought Tosca, but it's not ours. We made a promise to keep it the same to the people of Tosca?and San Francisco."

They're now aiming for "early fall," and you should note that they will not be taking reservations, but they will be serving food until 2 a.m.

· SF's Tosca Renovation Plans [Chron]
· All Tosca Coverage [~ESF~]