Robert “Bobby” Cook, the owner of the fantastic Owl Tree bar, has passed away. The Owl Tree, if you haven’t been there, is a fantastic bar loaded with all manner of owl memorabilia. Cook was as much of a staple on the San Francisco bar scene as the late Bruno Mooshei. If you didn’t talk with him or contribute to the conversation, Bobby Cook would order you to the other end of the bar.
No doubt Bobby is up there with Bruno mixing martinis in That Great Bartending Place in the Sky and ordering sanctimonious pricks to sit elsewhere.
RIP Bobby. I, for one, dig the owls.
(Thanks, Kim!)
I loved this tavern and visited it occasionally between 1990-1995. I stumbled onto it when I was 21, during my Navy days, exploring San Francisco. I talked with Bobby on more than one occasion, and luckily, I was never ordered to the end of the bar. I loved all the owls. I transferred to the east coast in late 1995 and never made it back. The Owl Tree and Bobby would pop into my mind over the years. The ambiance, and Bobby left an impression on me. I never forgot it.
Thanks so much for the comment. Yeah, it remains one of my favorite all-time bars. A truly special place that went all-in on its eccentric aesthetic.