"The Swingin' Door is dripping in history, humor and legends, which Chapman has tried to preserve. It is adorned in kitschy knickknacks, coin collections, old signs and myriad other sentimental acquisitions. There is 1930s-era brass mounted to the bar that Chapman acquired from the former Bay Meadows racetrack, which used to operate down the street and brought in droves of overflow traffic until it closed in 2008."
"Johnson recalled seeing outlaw country legend Kris Kristofferson on more than one occasion. Among the lore is the story of a bullet still lodged in the bar. Some say it came from a Hells Angels biker after a disagreement. As the Swingin' Door's website recounts it: "Around 1969 an irate person delivered a gunshot from the street through the front door and into the end of the bar." No injuries were suffered."
The Swingin' Door sits next to the Caltrain tracks across from the San Mateo County Event Center and operates as a two-story brick British-style pub established in 1955. A vertical black sign reading "FISH AND CHIPS" in white neon advertises the pub's signature offering. Owner Warren Chapman honors his Manchester roots and longtime cook Bruce Johnson with two coats of arms; Johnson patented the fish and chips during a 41-year tenure under previous ownership. The interior contains kitschy knickknacks, coin collections, 1930s-era Bay Meadows brass, memories of visiting sports figures and musicians, and a bullet still lodged in the bar from a 1969 street gunshot; no injuries occurred.
Read at SFGATE
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