St Mary’s Pub

3845 Mission St.

After more than 20 years in San Francisco I genuinely had never seen the adorable St. Mary’s Park Neighborhood of San Francisco on the edge of Mission St. known as College Hill. Right outside the subdivision placard sits the historic St Mary’s Pub, which holds the designation of being the oldest SF bar to open after the repeal of prohibition. With it’s 88 year history on the books, owner Maria Davis has etched their place in history, insuring it’s tenure as a legacy business which you can read on a plaque before walking in the bar.

She isn’t shy about the bar shining under the rule of women. The historical survey shows that “Marge” ran the bar for at least 30 years starting in the 1960’s and Maria has been the owner since 2010. It thrives under feminine rule and perhaps that’s what the ghost prefers too. As the survey uncovered, the legend is that it is “perhaps” haunted by a patron whom was shot and killed in the 1950’s. Alive or dead, no one wants to leave St Mary’s Pub… it’s just that comfortable.

The inside oozes all the comfort and sexiness you want from your local dive bar. The retro red leather booths are inviting and warm. The alabaster like carved horse head lamp looking over the curve of the bar beckons conversation. The small but perfectly sized pool room yearns for competitive banter. The stellar staff is a team of strong women whom exude Rosie the riveter style but with a bar key instead of a drill.

If you’re not sure what to order then look no further than their award winning bloody mary. In fact it’s so famous that Maria bottles her bloody mary mix which she sells it to-go or as take home kits with a bottle of vodka or tequila. Those kits have kept the stress levels of this neighborhood static during this last year of uncertainty. All kidding aside, the mix is phenomenal and I generally pick up a bottle anytime I stop in for a future lazy Sunday at home.

A truly gifted business woman, Maria has had to pivot often in the last few years. While the last year has been filled with obvious difficulties resulting from Covid-19, 2019 had her scrambling when the building went up for sale endangering the lease for the pub. Fortunately she was able to secure an sba loan to buy the building her bar sits in and launch her bloody mary mix, Three Sisters by December… only to be shut down due to the pandemic a few months later. But nevertheless, the patrons are loyal and the fans are many. St Mary’s has survived loads of storms in it’s storied past and hopefully the ghost will tell us all about it one drunk night soon.