North Beach Gets New Arcade Bar With Taqueria Built In
Next Door, which opened on Green Street next to Columbus Cafe, pairs vintage games and budget cocktails with a tenant taco shop that lets families in the door.
By Mei Ling ·
North Beach, one of San Francisco's busiest nightlife districts, has added another place to drink, and this one comes with arcade games and a taqueria. Next Door opened Wednesday on Green Street, a lively and well-stocked block for bars in the neighborhood.
The bar sits beside Columbus Cafe, which explains its name. The link between the two runs deep: owner Zak Kennedy is married to Beka Woods-Kennedy, who bought Columbus Cafe in 2020 with two fellow former bartenders and revived the 87-year-old grunge-bohemian dive.
Visually, the two could hardly be further apart. Columbus is dark and weathered, while Next Door is airy, filled with plants and painted a pale spring green. Those who look closely may recognize the room as the former home of Chubby Noodle.
The games on offer include vintage Pac-Man machines, Skee-Ball, two electric basketball games and a claw machine stocked with toys and plushies. The drinks lean into North Beach's hard-partying reputation, with shot-and-a-beer combinations such as the Sidewayz, which pairs a pint of 805 Blonde Ale with George Dickel whiskey, and the TenderShake, a bottle of Miller High Life served with Fernet. The short cocktail list includes an espresso martini alongside classics like a margarita and a Negroni, each priced at $15.
"It's something a little brighter in the neighborhood," said Kennedy, 42. "I didn't want a fancy cocktail lounge."
Kennedy, who has worked at bars including Nob Hill's Wreck Room and Cow Hollow's Mauna Loa, said he had become increasingly aware of the many tourists who visit North Beach with children and find few options beyond sit-down restaurants. "Kids get grumpy and fussy," he said. "So if you stop here, parents can have a drink, kids can play, and you can feed them."
The food comes from Street Meet Tacos, and without it the venue would be restricted to patrons 21 and over. The business is a brick-and-mortar successor to the popular Street Meet trucks found around the city. It operates independently inside Next Door and also serves as a commissary kitchen for delivery orders.
The menu features $7 super tacos and $14 super burritos, including a breakfast burrito for anyone who overdid it the night before. Bar snacks include bacon fries, mozzarella sticks and an off-menu quesabirria.
North Beach is known around the world for its Italian restaurants and sidewalk cafes. As the Standard put it, a little carne asada ought to do just fine.
Source: The San Francisco Standard
