Hi. Thank you for checking in on us at Tommy’s Joynt. Some updates from this summer: Tommy's is finally taking credit cards at the counter. Now you don't have to go to the ATM for cash, we are taking all forms of credit card payments, for a small convenience fee, and saving you money on ATM fees. Summer was not as busy as we had hoped, but we added staff, and are back to real plates. We are taking these extra costs because the quality of the experience and the low prices at Tommy’s are most important to us.
My top priorities now are fixing a few things here and there, this building is one of the oldest in San Francisco built in the 1850s, only a small handful of buildings in SF date back to that time, mostly because nearly 90% of the city was destroyed by the 1906 earthquake fire. Much of what survived has also since been demolished for modern buildings. I am dealing with a very old building that needs a lot of work. We are fixing it piece by piece to keep it here for hopefully another 175 years. I am putting together a Tommy’s Joynt history page with more info about the building and the restaurant, which is one of the oldest bar saloons in San Francisco, if not the oldest.
Thank you for the great reviews lately, it makes everyone here feel good. I am always trying to improve Tommy's in little ways and keep it the same as it was when Tommy Harris, Bob Mason, and Al Pollack created the Joynt. I am going to get a condiments service area so that folks can grab mustards if you wish. We are not putting them back on the tables, partly to avoid food waste and as part of our didication to keeping costs down.
I am working on getting new food signs, the current ones are washing away. They were hand-painted and I was trying to keep them as long as we could, I appreciate the craftsmanship that went into those signs. The artist is no longer available to repair them, unfortunately. We are creating new ones that maintain the Tommy’s Joynt style and are clear and legible.
I appreciate everyone's support, Tommy's has some of the best regulars, whether you come every day or once every five years, you are the best. The original owners truly created something special and one of a kind, although copied by countless others. Please come check us out soon, give those old signs one last look before they are gone.
Thanks, Tommy's Joynt.
Fast update
Hi! Today we added to our staff, Amber started as our new bartender. Which means I now have more time to do other things. My to-do list is beyond reason. Two top priorities are one credit cards and two real plates! Believe me, I am right there with you on those things. We are still very slow here but doing better. We need a few better days, to sell a few more dinners a day so that we can hire a busser. Please tell your friends to come stop by and get lunch. We need it. Contrary to popular belief Tommy’s is not profitable. We are counting on a great summer to push us ahead. We need it. On top of a slow SF covid recovery, almost everything here broke. Side note, if you ever want to get into the restaurant business and you are putting together your plan, triple what you think you will pay for repairs and maintenance. We are currently getting the neon sign outside repaired, I am expecting somewhere around $7000 by the time we are done fixing it. And, I just received an estimate to fix our dining room fan and our A/C, $14,000. I think we will be a little warm this summer at Tommy's. All that after I just paid $8000 on plumbing issues. At the moment we do not expect to raise prices. Food cost has stayed steady, although the prices of meat generally go up in the summer. The truth is my goal is to bring the prices down, specifically sandwiches and sides. Did you know that the best deals right now are on the dinners, specifically the slim dinner plate, you get the most food per dollar on that one. I have worked hard to keep those prices down. We have a very small staff and we run a very tight ship. We haven’t raised most prices for three years, which is unusual. Turkey prices are still crazy high, they have not budged since last year’s bird-flu issues. Well, I got to get back at it. Thanks for your support and continued patronage.