The Barstool Fund - The Beehive
Up next: The Beehive (San Francisco, CA)
The Beehive is a ‘60s-inspired neighborhood cocktail bar that channels free-spirited, funkier times. Located in the heart of San Francisco’s Mission District, The Beehive offers era apropos craft cocktails and delicious fare that exudes modern Mad Men vibes.
Reader Email
The Beehive (Second Label LLC) came about as a pivot from my old business Range, which I owned with my wife, located at the same address. Range enjoyed over a decade of success, including several years with 1 star from the Michelin guide. Over time, we noticed that the demographic of the Mission in San Francisco changed, so we decided to rebrand, re-partner, and come up with a concept that suited the changing neighborhood.
With so much history in the location (since 2004), we knew that more casual food with a focus on great cocktails would resonate with our guests. The Beehive opened in 2018 and hired over 25 employees, almost all of them living in or around the neighborhood. We have no illusions regarding why we were successful - it was our great employees, who gave great service and treated everyone with respect. Our mantra has always been "under-promise and over-deliver" and this ideal infiltrates every facet of our operations, from custodian to owner, from dishwasher to bar manager.
Of course, all this went away in March of 2020, when we had to let go of almost our entire staff. It was so surreal and difficult to just cut the cord with so many people who made The Beehive special. Since then, we have tried to nimbly navigate the constantly changing landscape in regards to our ability to open, serve customers and protect our employees and guests. It has been especially difficult given that often we have had less than 48 hours to make huge pivots, all the while trying to keep the few employees that we retained happy and employed.
Mainly, we ask Dave and the 30 Day Fund to help us re-hire the jewels of our business -our employees. Even with PPP loans we are only able to cover the cost of a few of them, and even in this circumstance we are losing money every week. Without our employees we are a shell of ourselves. With them we see a way forward, without them we are likely to fail.