A little later than planned, but as we foreshadowed back in February, Kok Bar (1225 Folsom Street) served its last beers behind that leather curtain last Saturday. The bar was infamous (and more popular) back in the seventies and eighties, when it was known as the Ramrod, and it later became My Place. Its final incarnation as a gay leather bar came as the leather scene is shrinking nationwide, and owner David Morgan decided it was time to sell. The new bar that will replace it, called Driftwood, takes its name from the new owners’ shared love of the beach and surfing. Christopher Milstead and business partner Shawn Magee (owner of Amnesia) are planning to turn it into a laid back cocktail bar with a mixed crowd, and possibly a fireplace in back. Look for it to open this summer. [Earlier, Earlier still]
