Larkspur’s Silver Peso begins new chapter

A new beginning is underway at the Silver Peso as longtime owner and bartender Rebel Lee finalized the sale of the business and its remaining lease last week to committed stewards with deep local ties. Tiburon resident Conor Flaherty and Max Perry of Corte Madera, managing partners at Sam’s Anchor Cafe in downtown Tiburon, are aiming for a St. Patrick’s Day reopening, pending transfer of the liquor license.

Dive bar is in the Peso’s DNA, and the plan is to keep it that way, much to the relief of its many loyal patrons.

“If people are concerned, it means they care, and I’ll take running or owning a place people care about any day,” Flaherty said. “The Peso is near and dear to my heart, and it’s important that it stay in business. From a community perspective, it’s really fun to see people get excited about it. It’s old Marin nostalgia.”

For generations, the Peso has remained familiar, whether for an afternoon beer and a round of pool, a rowdy nightcap, a rite-of-passage drink after turning 21 or the annual Thanksgiving Eve reunion revelry.

“If you’ve spent a lot of time there, you’ll come back and it will still be the Peso. We’ll do a good job keeping the ethos,” Perry said. “There’s no rebranding, just preserving it as it was, and once folks get a chance to see it, they’ll feel the same energy as before.”

The historic landmark building was purchased late last year by town residents Tommy and Shannon Lamanna. The local family shares the team’s enthusiasm for preserving the bar’s legacy and has invested in the nearly complete structural updates. Perry credits the City of Larkspur for its collaborative approach throughout the process. Flaherty is helping with overall operations, while Perry is leading the day-to-day management.

Interior updates include new flooring and bathrooms, upgraded beer taps and modern efficiencies like a point-of-sale system, while the bar’s booze-forward menu will remain.

“We’ll make a mean cocktail and maybe have a special Rebel Lee drink as an homage to him,” Perry said.

Once home to a blacksmith and later a market, the modest two-story building has served drinks since the 1930s. It became the Silver Peso in 1961, when former Navy diver Chester Wolmack purchased the bar with money he earned salvaging silver coins from Manila Bay after World War II, a backstory that gave it its name.

Lee, who lives a few blocks away, worked behind the bar for more than a decade before purchasing it in 2015.

The Sun Valley, Idaho, native started bartending at Ruth’s Chris Steak House in San Francisco before working in Maui and then spending five years at the former Avenue Grill in Mill Valley.

“I met Rick Adams, who owned the Silver Peso with his wife, April, surfing at Cronkhite,” Lee said. “Avenue Grill was closing, so I gave him a resume for an ‘honest bartender.’ He offered me a job filling in for six months when a guy who’d been there for 44 years hyperextended his elbow, and he threw me right in.”

Lee, who has been sober for 30 years, recounts wearing a feather boa and dancing on top of the bar with an inflatable alien hanging from the ceiling.

“This place allowed me to be outrageous, and I loved it,” said Lee, referring to himself as the sober bartender. “I was free to create the atmosphere I was good at, which was getting people to come together and have an experience.”

Beyond pouring drinks, he says his job was to make people laugh, introduce strangers and turn the bar into a party.

A surfing accident 11 years ago in Sayulita, Mexico, took Lee from behind the bar to largely homebound as he began experiencing chronic, debilitating migraines caused by a traumatic brain injury.

“As I pulled in to get barreled by an 8-foot wave, the lip caught the tail and slammed my head into the deck,” he said.

Nine months after the injury, in June 2015, he purchased the Peso and, for much of his ownership, has operated it behind the scenes.

“I couldn’t be part of the staff and community, and it has been emotionally agonizing,” he said.

Using his savings to keep the bar afloat during the pandemic was another blow.

“It’s felt like treading water while trying to hold the boat above water,” he said.

The final decision to sell came last May after a car crashing into the back of the building necessitated repairs and reopening on his own proved too difficult. Letting it go will allow Lee to devote more time and energy to navigating life with his condition.

“I sold it to a man with a heart who grew up here and has a love for this county and community,” said Lee of Flaherty.

For Flaherty, that history matters.

“We’re excited to get it going again and to honor Rebel and the strong community of people who go there,” said Flaherty, noting that one of the best parts of the process has been getting to know him better. “He has a huge heart and is a super sweet guy.”

“Rebel was an absolute legend behind the bar and as a previous owner,” Perry said. “He’s gone through many cycles of hardship and still maintained it as that one steadfast fixture that’s been intertwined with his life. He’s built a lot of strong relationships with patrons, community and staff, and we want to honor his legacy.”

Flaherty and Perry were classmates at Redwood High School and have been going to the Peso since they reached legal drinking age. In 2019, a year shy of its 100th anniversary, they and an investment group reopened Sam’s Anchor Cafe in Tiburon following an extensive remodel.

Flaherty is a commercial real estate executive, and Perry, who has invested in projects including the Dorian in San Francisco and the Flamingo Resort and Spa in Santa Rosa, brings hospitality experience with a focus on revitalizing long-standing community institutions.

Lee’s Facebook post last week sharing news of the sale prompted an outpouring of comments lovingly expressing the many good memories and bonds formed.

And so it shall remain, under the glow of the red neon Silver Peso sign.

“What I feel is gratitude,” said Lee about his 25 years at The Peso. “I was sober for four years when I stepped back into the saloon game, not knowing what to expect, and this rowdy bunch accepted me, promoted me and took care of me. I love the Peso and the years of relationships. The community is a big part of my heart.”

Stay tuned for updates on the grand reopening at 450 Magnolia Ave. in Larkspur.

Leanne Battelle is a freelance food writer and restaurant columnist. Email her at ij.lbattelle@gmail.com or follow The Real Deal Marin at therealdealmarin.com for more on local food.