Vesuvio was ground zero for SF's Beat Generation. Now it's swarmed by Gen Z.

"“The drinks aren't too expensive, and you can smoke cigarettes, and that's pretty much it.” Boyden is more introspective: “The upstairs is kind of cool. Um, Hemingway wrote here. What was the other dude's name?”"

"“None of us get it,” she says, of Generation Z “finding” Vesuvio. “There's no entertainment. There's no DJ.” The bar takes up no more space than a bodega. Bouncers at the door have had to kick people out for trying to sneak in. Those in the literary and arts industry, long synonymous with the area, can't get a table on weekends and don't even try."

"The line stretches beyond the back edge of the bar to the storefront that follows. It's a new phenomenon here in North Beach, one that perplexes longtime patrons of the historic bohemian bar, known for its past as a beatnik rendezvous (but was never frequented by Ernest Hemingway)."

"Henry Lenoir founded Vesuvio in 1948, five years before City Lights Bookstore opened. Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg ordered their drinks at the same wooden countertop the kids now push through to reach, and the walls brimming with black-and-white photographs won't let you forget it. Tiffany lamps hang overhead."

Bargoers gather outside Vesuvio Cafe on a Friday night, waiting for wrist stamps at the door. The crowd is mostly young, with many appearing older than their stated ages, and their faces glow from a stained-glass window reading “Vesuvio.” Four men joke as they walk, and one trips over a bike rack. Joe Boyden comes to celebrate a friend’s 25th birthday and is drawn to the upstairs, noting Hemingway’s connection. Robert Burgeson says the drinks are not too expensive and smoking is allowed. The line has become a new North Beach phenomenon that puzzles longtime patrons, including a local photographer who says Generation Z “finds” Vesuvio without expecting entertainment like a DJ. The bar’s small size and strict door control contribute to weekend crowding, while longtime arts and literary regulars struggle to get tables.

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