The first bar I ever went to (besides with my dad as a kid) was the Uptown. It was a great experience, just what I always thought a bar would be like: Dark, damp and a little scary. I felt totally at home. Last week the owner, Scott Ellsworth, passed away unexpectedly from a heart attack. I didn’t know Scott that well, but the couple times we talked he was always really friendly, and very supportive of the weird artsy place my buddies and I were building across the street. He ran a bar that didn’t have a cocktail program or a dress code. He ran a bar where you could sit down, have a shot and a beer and chat with familiar regulars. Inside the Uptown I’ve stored paintings during a scavenger hunt art show, made business deals, broken up fights, maybe gotten in a fight, tried in vain to get up the nerve to talk to a girl, watched my team dominate the World Series, and seen Sean Penn close it down.
The Bold Italic has a great tribute to him today, which would have been his 60th birthday.
In 2011, when I posted a picture of “KiTOS”, the letters on the back of the bar, Scott wrote in to tell us that it stood for the previous owner’s names, Kim and Tony. Let’s just say now it stands for “Keep in Touch, Ol’ Scott.”
 was the Uptown. It was a great experience, just what I always thought a bar would be like: Dark, damp and a little scary. I felt totally at home. Last week the owner, Scott Ellsworth, passed away unexpectedly from a heart […]</p>
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Dear Ariel, thank you for sharing your lovely feelings with us. Very nice things to say! <3
Thanks Ariel, Scott was one hell of a good guy.
Even though I never got to meet Scott I feel like I lost someone special in my life through the bar I’ve been enjoying for years. I’ve had birthdays, business meetings, reunions, quick drinks, long sprees, dates, benders, and recoveries at the Uptown. Love the place. My condolences to his friends and family.
Worked with Scotty at the Rite Spot down the street for 2 years and was a founding regular of Uptown, till I left SF in 88. We lost Larry, his partner at Uptown way too early, now Scott, too! Hadn’t seen you in years, Hippy Chef, but I’ll miss you!
uptown was also the first bar i went to. at the tender age of something like 14. i told scott the story once, and he even knew the name of the probably off duty cop that was sitting near me (which is why i did not go into another bar for at least a year after that). sad news.