Ed Moose, 81: San Francisco restaurateur, barkeep
Garrett
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2010/08/13/MN401ET9OK.DTL
Ed Moose dies - S.F. restaurateur, barkeep
Carl Nolte, Chronicle Staff Writer
Friday, August 13, 2010
Ed Moose, the genial host who for 32 years was the presiding genius behind
the Washington Square Bar & Grill and Moose's, two of San Francisco's
best-known restaurants, died early Thursday at California Pacific Medical
Center. Mr. Moose, who lived and worked in North Beach, was 81.
He had broken his ankle in a fall at home in June, had several operations
and developed a staph infection.
Mr. Moose and his partner, Sam Deitsch, opened the Washington Square Bar &
Grill in autumn 1973 and for the next 17 years it was the spot to be seen in
San Francisco. Moose's opened in 1990, and nearly rivaled it in popularity.
The two places attracted mayors, senators, sports stars, musicians, writers,
celebrities, artists and a smattering of tourists and ordinary San
Franciscans. In their heyday, they were full of music and customers every
night. At times, it was nearly impossible to find room at the bar or a table
for dining.
Presiding over it all was Ed Moose, a tall imposing figure with an easy
smile who never seemed to forget a name or fail to buy a drink for a regular
customer.
The life he wanted
"He led the life he always wanted," said former NBC news anchor Tom Brokaw,
who often dined at the Washington Square and Moose's. "It was a life filled
with saloons, cronies, chilled martinis, politics, baseball, jazz and laughs
built around a great meal. He was the last of the breed."
"Ed Moose was larger than life with a love for food and politics," said
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who was a friend of Mr. Moose and his wife, Mary
Etta. "People from all over the city and the country were drawn to Moose's
to make friends and fun."
Former Mayor Willie Brown called Mr. Moose "the lord of North Beach."
"He was the ultimate tavern owner in a period when tavern owners were
celebrities," Brown said. "He was part of the character of the city."
Mr. Moose and Deitsch, who knew each other from their days in Mr. Moose's
hometown of St. Louis, started the Washington Square at a time when San
Francisco was going through one of its many changes. They both lived in
North Beach; Deitsch had restaurant experience and Mr. Moose, who had been a
sportswriter, a fundraiser and a social worker, was bored with his life and
looking for a challenge.
"They were sitting one night in Rose Evangelisti's bar," said Mary Etta
Moose. "She said to them, 'You guys are young and I am old. Why don't you
buy my joint?' "
Her place was at Powell and Union streets, in what was still a very Italian
North Beach. They remodeled the place, developed a decor that was part New
York and part old-time San Francisco.
Fashionable joint
Business was slow at first, and then, with meticulous attention to detail
and careful cultivation of newspaper columnists, television types, lawyers
and politicians, the Washington Square caught on. With good music and
reasonably good food, the joint - as the owners always called it - became
more than fashionable.
It looked easy, but the owners worked at it. They put on book events,
brought in good musicians and hired sharp public relations people.
Mayor George Moscone became a regular; so did Chronicle columnists Herb Caen
and Stan Delaplane. CBS news anchor Walter Cronkite would stop by when he
was in town, and so did Brokaw.
'The Washbag'
Caen started calling it "The Washbag," and so did cabdrivers. All any
tourist pretending to know the city had to say to a cabbie was "The Washbag,
please."
"He had a flair," said Martin Nolan, a former Boston Globe reporter who knew
Mr. Moose well. "Ed thought life was a party and savored it to the fullest."
In 1987, the Washington Square did more business per seat than any other San
Francisco restaurant. It was so crowded that one night Ed Moose himself
couldn't get in.
Deitsch knew restaurants; Mr. Moose knew people. He had a way of making
people feel welcome, said Mary Etta Moose.
"One night," she said, "Ed saw a kid come in with a girl. He could see that
it was a first date. Ed could also see by the way the kid acted that he'd
never been in the Washington Square before, and maybe never in a good
restaurant. He could just tell.
"Ed greeted them like they were old and valued customers, gave them a window
seat and sent over a drink. He had this way; he knew what people wanted,
what would make them happy."
He also organized a softball team called "Les Lapins Sauvages," which played
home games in North Beach and road games in Paris, Moscow and, once, at
Fenway Park in Boston. Caen played first base, writer Ron Fimrite played
second, jazz pianist Dick Fregulia was on third and Claude Jarman, the
former child movie star, was the shortstop.
In 1990, Mr. Moose and Deitsch sold the Washington Square. Deitsch invested
in Ed's new place, Moose's, just across the park, but was a silent partner.
He died in 2002.
Moose's was a larger, livelier joint than the Washington Square, and nearly
as popular. Caen still came, and so did politicians and celebrities. It was
good, but not the same.
No Moose, no Moose's
In 2005, Moose sold the place. It did not flourish under new owners. Why go
to Moose's, customers asked, when there is no Moose?
The old Washington Square was sold more than once, and after a period of
dormancy, reopened with a decor that duplicated the place in its glory days.
On the same day that Ed Moose died, the Washington Square Bar & Grill posted
a notice saying that it was closing "until further notice."
Mary Etta Moose, his only survivor, said there will be no memorial service:
"He said, 'I've seen memorial services, I've thrown memorial services, and I
went to memorial services, and I don't want one.' "
Instead, he said, he wanted gifts in his memory to St. Anthony Dining Room,
220 Golden Gate Ave., San Francisco 94102.
Bill Schenley
"Garrett" wrote:
> http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2010/08/13/MN401ET9OK.DTL
>
> Ed Moose dies - S.F. restaurateur, barkeep
> Carl Nolte, Chronicle Staff Writer
Pretty cool obit, Garrett. Thanks...
Diner
> Mr. Moose, who lived and worked in North Beach, was 81.
My condolences to Bunny Rabbit and Dancing Bear.
-Tim
Brad Ferguson
<sain...@sprintmail.com> wrote:
> http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2010/08/13/MN401ET9OK.DTL
>
> Ed Moose dies - S.F. restaurateur, barkeep
> Carl Nolte, Chronicle Staff Writer
>
> Friday, August 13, 2010
>
> Ed Moose, the genial host who for 32 years was the presiding genius behind
> the Washington Square Bar & Grill and Moose's, two of San Francisco's
> best-known restaurants, died early Thursday at California Pacific Medical
> Center.
First Moose, then Squirrel.