The Barstool Fund - American Bull Bar & Grill
American Bull Bar & Grill has been a favorite gathering place for locals since they opened their doors in August 1997. They are a neighborhood bar and restaurant with a “Cheers” ambiance — and it is a great place for watching any and all sporting events.
Reader Email
Hey Dave - submitting my family's restaurant for the second time as I just got off a tough phone call with my mom and brother and they're both in a bad space mentally, physically and emotionally. The video I made tells the story the best so please reference that for the full story (only ~5mins long). Thanks for giving us a second chance. The 'Bull' is a sports bar in the bay area in CA, which has been hit hard not only by sports coming to a halt this year (when we were able to be open) and now with the closures of indoor dining most of the year, and now outdoor dining for the past month or so. My dad started the Bull in '97 as a passion project. He was a huge sports fan with tons of sports collectables and justified the bar to my mom that it was a place to store his sports memorabilia somewhere outside of our house. He recruited the head chef, waitress and bartender from his favorite spots and they still are our full time chef/bartender/waitress to this day (he even sponsored Raul our chef to get US citizenship and threw him a party at the bull to celebrate.) Unfortunately my dad passed away suddenly in 2001 (actually passed away of a heart attack at the Bull in the office that my brother and mom work in every day), and it's been run by my mom (and now my brother since 2019) ever since. Dan (my brother) is a big fan of yours too :) We were able to get a PPP loan on the first round and mom + Dan were able to keep paying their employees through December when they ran through the fund + we got closed down for outdoor and indoor dining. Since then it's my mom and brother + our cooks day in and out fulfilling the to-go orders and unfortunately it's not enough to keep us open. My mom has loaned money out of her retirement to the bull to keep it open and I know it would kill my brother if COVID caused us to close permanently, both for obvious reasons but because it's the last connection he feels he has to our late father. It's been described as a 'Cheers' for our customers as well, who have made the bull their home and family for many years. I know the stories and unique experiences of the regulars who are everything from bay area tech executives, to Jerry aka Santa the recology garbage men, to LJ the barber from Atlantic City, to Nick and Kathy who is suffering from alzheimers but remembers her friends at the bull when she comes in. The regulars are like extended family to me and each other as well and we have quite the cast of characters that come in. People have met their spouses, best friends, started new community sports teams, and inherited family at the Bull and is a place for anyone to feel that they belong to something. Thank you for not only giving my family a chance but giving the "Bull" a chance to continue to be a refuge for everyone. I thank you for considering us and thank you for using your platform for GOOD!