Toronado: A Conversation With Bill Lewis

Toronado has anchored the Lower Haight since 1987, built a global reputation on 50 rotating taps, and remained stubbornly, defiantly cash only through every tech boom. Bill Lewis spent decades falling in love with the Toronado before buying it in June. After a near-miss sale to a crypto investor who floated the idea of a ToronadoCoin and a roof deck, Lewis and his brother-in-law Wall Pringle stepped in, promising to change nothing essential. Four weeks into ownership, he’s been replacing a toilet, patching the floor behind the bar where spilt beer was pooling, fixing a plumbing leak, and upgrading the beer refrigeration. This is what ownership looks like from the inside of a legendary bar: boring, essential, and mostly invisible.

What felt different once you were on the other side of the bar?

My appreciation for the staff. You might be a door person, you might be a bartender, but everyone chips in and covers whatever needs to be done. It’s a lean team and they’re very talented. I just hadn’t seen any of that as a customer, and it’s been awesome to witness.

Previous owner Dave Keene is staying on as ambassador. What does that actually look like?

Dave has been amazing. I can pick up the phone and he picks up. What he always comes back to is that he just wants us to be successful. When I thank him he says, “Bill, whatever you need to make this work.” He’s given us the keys in a very real way.

What does Toronado need structurally that customers will never see?

The main beer refrigeration was well past its useful life and the beer was warming up, so we replaced that. People will notice the temperature is better. And we’re working on the smell. There was unevenness behind the bar where beer spills pool up over time, so we’ve patched and sealed everything. People have come up and said it smells better in here, so it’s starting to work.

What does curation mean in 2026 with craft beer more saturated than ever?

It’s really two things. One: in one place you can drink exceptional beer from so many different places, many of which you’d have to travel to experience at the source. Two: brewers want to be on our board. Many of them have origin stories at Toronado. So we get access to unique things, special small batch runs, rare beers from cellars. Outside of four or five consistent staples, everything else is constantly changing and reflecting what’s great and available. That’s what makes it Toronado.

Is Toronado built for the AI era?

Tech has been changing the Bay Area forever, this is just another chapter. But I think Toronado makes more sense than ever in that world. It’s an analog place. Cash, a jukebox, people who come in to see their friends or talk to strangers. For younger people there’s something genuinely novel about walking into a bar that runs on cash, plays records, and expects you to talk to the person next to you. The community at Toronado is as important as the beer. They go hand in hand.

What’s the most surprising thing regulars have told you since you took over?

How many people brought first dates here. How many people met their spouse here. Not the least of which is Brando, who runs beer operations here. That was not something I was expecting. That’s when you know a bar is more than a bar.

What does the person who takes this from you in 40 years need to understand?

The community. You have to experience it firsthand, you can’t tell it to someone. And the relationships with the beer makers. You know going in that you’ll need those brewery relationships, but you’re not going to understand the details until you actually have those conversations.