Owners Jon and Kelly Anne Gasparini are gearing up to reopen 15 Romolo in San Francisco after two years of renovations.
Weston Turtle Fudge/S.F. Chronicle
“The bar is essentially the same, but more functional and nicer,” owner Jon Gasparini said of the renovated 15 Romolo.
Weston Turtle Fudge/S.F. Chronicle
15 Romolo is located inside the 114-year-old building of the historic Basque Hotel.
Weston Turtle Fudge/S.F. Chronicle
There hasn’t been a regular line outside 15 Romolo since the North Beach cocktail bar first opened in the late ‘90s. Until recently, owner Jon Gasparini figured the crowds that once spilled into the alley outside the bar were a relic of those early days.
But in the two years since 15 Romolo closed for renovations, new bars and restaurants have bloomed throughout North Beach, a historically bohemian neighborhood that was riddled with commercial vacancies even before the pandemic. On weekend nights, lines now form for new spots and neighborhood institutions alike, outside April Jean on Grant Avenue and Vesuvio Cafe on Columbus Avenue.
And as 15 Romolo prepares to reopen next month, Gasparini said, barhoppers have already started “rattling the gates.”
Article continues below this ad
“In the 35 years I’ve been in this neighborhood, I’ve never seen it this vibrant,” Gasparini said. He hypothesized that North Beach’s renaissance is “a reaction to how tech-driven the city is and how online everyone is. North Beach still feels like an analog, kind of antiquated neighborhood. I think that’s refreshing for a lot of people.”
15 Romolo — named for its address on Romolo Place, a steep alley off Broadway — is in the 114-year-old building of the historic Basque Hotel, once a boarding house for shepherds and other migrants from Spain’s País Vasco. Before it closed in 1996, the hotel was a pillar of the small Basque community that once thrived on the seam between North Beach and Chinatown.
15 Romolo is located on a steep alleyway off Broadway in North Beach.
Weston Turtle Fudge/S.F. Chronicle
Gasparini leaned into the Basque history when he and Greg Lindgren opened 15 Romolo in 1998, serving an Iberian-themed menu and eventually adopting a sherry-centric cocktail list. Tucked away from the busy intersection of Broadway and Columbus Avenue, the bar was ahead of the speakeasy trend that later swept the city and became a mainstay of North Beach nightlife. Gasparini and Lindgren brought on Scott Baird and Josh Harris — who would go on to found acclaimed Mission District bar Trick Dog — to redesign the cocktail list in 2010. In 2023, former Chronicle wine critic Esther Mobley named 15 Romolo one of the city’s best bars.
But 15 Romolo’s century-old building came with frustrating quirks. Gasparini spent years tamping a Whac-a-Mole of leaks in the ceiling. The snug, dusty space had no air conditioning and could become stiflingly hot. The plumbing, electrical and sound systems were all dated.
Article continues below this ad
Gasparini and his wife and co-owner, Kelly Anne, had made piecemeal fixes to the bar over the years. But when the couple decided to renew the lease a few years ago, they saw it as an opportunity to give the space a facelift. The bar closed for renovations in August 2024, and they’ve been “painstakingly restoring it” ever since, Gasparini said.
A milk punch from 15 Romolo, whose focus is “classic base drinks with maybe a little bit of technique,” owner Jon Gasparini said.
John Storey/Special to the Chronicle
Some of the changes were unglamorous: The Gasparinis added air conditioning, upgraded the plumbing and sanded down the worn, mahogany-paneled walls. The couple also cares deeply about the experiential minutiae, like the 45-rpm records they collected for their new 1951 Seeburg jukebox. Blondie, Otis Redding and Patsy Cline will all be in the mix, Kelly Anne Gasparini said.
15 Romolo still seats about 65 people, but the Gasparinis traded long banquettes against the wall for roomy, rounded booths that seat up to seven people each. The bathrooms and hallways have also been refurbished to better match the rest of the bar’s elegant speakeasy aesthetic.
“The bar is essentially the same, but more functional and nicer,” Gasparini said. “We’re rolling into 30 years of being open, which will give us legacy status with the city. We’re leaning into being more of an institution. It’s not a super high-concept place. It’s more of a classic.”
Article continues below this ad
That ethos extends to the revised drink menu, which is anchored by familiar standards like the bar’s Pimm’s Cup, also served by the pitcher. Gasparini, who also co-owns the Cordial and Rye Cocktail Bar in San Francisco, has seen high-concept, tweezer-garnished cocktails fall out of favor in the last decade. When it reopens, 15 Romolo will have a pared-down spirit selection and an emphasis on “classic base drinks with maybe a little bit of technique,” he said.
The bar will serve a new, Basque-inspired food menu from a new chef: the Gasparinis’ son, Giovanni. The 24-year-old brokered a deal with his parents, Jon Gasparini said, to cook there for about a year before pursuing a job in fine dining. The couple’s other two children and their niece and nephew also plan to help out.
Owners Kelly Anne Gasparini, left, and Jon Gasparini, right, with their son, Giovanni Gasparini, 15 Romolo’s new chef.
Weston Turtle Fudge/S.F. Chronicle
15 Romolo is currently set to return in mid-November, though the renovation has repeatedly delayed the date.
Article continues below this ad
The remodeled bar has already hosted a few private events, but Gasparini said he isn’t planning on any big festivities when it finally reopens to the public. “We’re just going to pop the doors open and tell people we’re open and have it happen that way.” And if there’s a line, he said, “Hopefully, people will forgive us.”