WFCN –
Michael Prien had no words to describe his father Arnold “Arnie” Prien’s actions when he sold the storied sports bar the Final Final in San Francisco and uprooted the family from the Bay Area.
“Pops decided to let go of the place,” Michael Prien told SFGATE on Friday afternoon. He retired, and we stayed together as a family, so we uprooted and headed to Tennessee.
The bar was sold by Arnie Prien to Joseph Wallace and Robert Lemons. Wallace and Lemons are the same people who bought Bus Stop Saloon in 2021 and also opened the popular cocktail spot Left Door above it. Prien has been running the bar for nearly fifty years, with the help of his three sons Michael, Cory, and Elliott. Prien is a tank.
Even though Michael Prien signed a lease until 2034, he claimed that “one thing led to another, and it just came to be.”
According to him, the family decided against throwing a goodbye party at the bar since word of the sale came out to regulars over the course of a few months, allowing everyone an opportunity to say their goodbyes.
Not only did Arnold “Arnie” Prien just sell the Final Final sports bar that he and his sons Cory, Michael, and Elliott had run for nearly fifty years, but he and his family have also left the Bay Area altogether.
Kevin Kelleher—SFGATE Special—
As they go, the Priens leave behind a tavern that has served the community for 90 years, with over 50 of those years serving as the Final Final. Among its many notable patrons are Clint Eastwood, Joe DiMaggio, Klay Thompson, Tim Lincecum, and Matt Damon’s “Hereafter.” It has also been featured in a national NBA ad during the 2016 NBA Finals.
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The Red Knight, located in the Financial District, was owned by 81-year-old Arnie Prien, who relocated to the Bay Area in the 1960s after serving three years in the Marine Corps. Prien had a varied career in the hospitality industry throughout the Bay Area. Following its 1977 sale, he purchased a space at 2990 Baker St., which was covered in shag carpet, in 1978 and rechristened it The Final Final.
The moniker is derived from an old drinking word,” Michael explained to SFGATE in 2022. This is going to be our last drink, and then we’re going to leave. Then it’s, “Okay, one last one, the last one.” Even after two hours, you remain in the same spot.
The Final Final sports bar’s name is prominently displayed at the entrance to 2990 Baker St. in the Marina/Cow Hollow district, engraved in the same style as the San Francisco Public Works street signs on sidewalk corners.
According to the San Francisco Chronicle, which broke the news of the shutdown first, Wallace and Lemons will be renovating the bar’s restrooms and overhauling the food and drink menus, but the name and interior will remain. The new proprietors have a little help from Scott Baird (who has worked on a ton of cocktail menus in the Bay Area) and Paul Toxqui, the senior chef at Left Door, on the project as well.
Local landmarks like Cow Hollow and Bus Stop as well as The Final Final in San Francisco hold a special place in our hearts. In a statement shared with SFGATE, Wallace expressed his desire to ensure the continued success of these pubs by offering a little improved version of the same nostalgic experience that the same people have been enjoying for decades.
The bar will likely keep operating as usual during the refurbishment.