The iconic Doc’s Clock sign is going home. Well, to its new home. The bar is raising cash to have the sign transferred a block down to the bar’s new location at Mission and 20th streets.
This could be the final chapter in a saga that began with Doc’s lease not being renewed last year, and an ensuing struggle with their former landlord to keep the sign.
Apparently, District 9 Supervisor Hillary Ronen helped to facilitate the sign’s return to its rightful owner.
In a press release, her office said she helped get the sign a “vintage” designation with the city. She also helped to cut a deal with with the landlord and the bar’s owner. The landlord of Doc’s former location will get to replace it with something similar.
“I was able to bring together the bar owners, their previous landlords, and the Planning Department to figure out a creative way to allow the sign to be moved — which was a much more complicated process than one might think,” Ronen said in a statement.
The bar received Legacy Business status with the city in 2016. In spite of this, the Doc’s former landlord gave it the boot. After it moved, Doc’s painted a (quite remarkable) facsimile of the original sign over the bar. But, clearly, it wasn’t the same.
However, the bar still needs to raise $20,000 to have the sign relocated. It is raising money through a GoFundMe campaign, and will hold a fundraising event March 2.
“The cost to accomplish this is significant to a small, independent business owner,” wrote Amy Benjamin, the campaign’s organizer, “so any little bit helps.”