Izzy Gomez (restaurateur)

Izzy Gomez was a Portuguese immigrant, chef and restaurateur in the North Beach neighborhood of San Francisco, California, USA. In 1943, he was recognized by LIFE Magazine as one of San Francisco’s most colorful characters. His birthday was February 9.

Gomez left his home in Portugal when he was eighteen and made his way to San Francisco. He landed his first job as a “swamper” in a local gin-joint on the infamous Barbary Coast. After saving his money he soon had enough to buy a small bar at 848 Pacific Avenue.

One of Gomez’s great fans was William Saroyan, the celebrated Californian/Armenian writer of the 1930s and 1940s. His famous play, "The Time of Your Life", is about Gomez and is set at Izzy’s saloon, called the San Francisco Dive. Saroyan wrote in his journals that Gomez's place was downtown, "not far from the old Montgomery block, across from the firehouse at First and Pacific". He goes on to say, "Izzy Gomez's was something else. Unique. Sui generis. It really was as portrayed in The Time of Your Life, except that it was also a hangout for hard-boiled, sophisticated newspapermen. ... They gave the place a rowdy, slightly underworld character of half-suppressed brawl. ... For meals, Izzy served thick, luscious steaks, french fries, and salads. He gave a considerable number of meals and liquor out free, not just to starving artists, but to people he liked."

While Izzy's saloon was demolished in 1952, a new restaurant named Izzy's Steaks and Chops was opened on his birthday in 1987. It is located at 3345 Steiner (at Chestnut). A restaurant chain has been built around the brand.cite news | publisher=San Francisco Chronicle|accessdate=2007-12-16|url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/12/16/PK66TBLU1.DTL|title=Speakeasies Then and Now|author=Mike Adamick|date=December 16, 2007]

Notes

References

"San Francisco"; photographic essay. (July 12, 1943). "LIFE Magazine," p. 78.

External links

* [http://www.izzyssteaks.com Izzy's Steaks and Chops]