Creekside co-owners Pat Townsley & Janet Abrahamson met at New George’s Nightclub (iconic award-winning live music venue, downtown San Rafael circa 1980-1996) in the late 80’s. PT was the GM, and Janet was the live music videographer. Later, local artist and friend Susan Z would send her roommate, Laura, down to George’s, resulting in the marriage of PT & Laura in 1996. Lots happened at New George’s! The crew of George’s was fantastic; a hard working, music loving and dedicated team unlike any other industry or business. Decades later, the core of the New George’s crew still keeps in touch, even though many have moved out of state and moved on with life (the nerve of some people). New George’s co-owners Don Swarts and Tom Hutt are still active in the area, and the model that Tom & Don laid out through trial and error, and then restructured and marketed by PT under the “test and learn” process eventually became the proven model for Creekside’s operations: Open 7 days a week at 11am, 365 (occasionally we closed on Labor Day for the New George’s Laborless Day Picnic).
So, to all the many employees of New George’s from 1984 to 1996, to the thousands of musicians and bands, to the great comedians who graced the stage, and to the hundreds of thousands of partygoers and customers who came to play, we salute you. Our recent impromptu “Old George’s reunion” at Creekside brought about 25 past employees and a few comedians in its wake including Michael Pritchard, Johnny Steele and Geoff Bolt, noting such greats as Dana Carvey, Bobby Slayton, Greg Proops, Carlos Alazraqui and Robin Williams were regular headliners on Tuesday comedy nights. Headliners included Tower of Power, Huey Lewis and the News, Starship, Sons of Champlin, The Radiators, Ronnie Montrose, Flock of Seagulls, Missing Persons, Gregg Allman, Chris Issak, Fishbone, The Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Commitments, Zero, Train, Vinyl, Blue Oyster Cult, Edgar Winter, The Tubes, Great White, Pride & Joy, The Busboys,…and the list goes on. We’d catch artists on their way up, on their way down, and first time performances from acts that would last decades.
Today, Creekside’s high energy, personality and commitment to excellence is a working homage to New George’s, providing good times and a memorable experience. The George’s crew of the 80’s & 90’s didn’t know how magical that environment and time was until it was gone; we were all just living in the moment and having fun. With Creekside, we are present and deliberate in our commitment to our employees, customers and community…thanks to the unique and serendipitous days of New George’s.
Left to Right: Jim Tomlinson, Don Swartz, Joni Frasson, Sheri Ardito, Janet Abrahamson, Janet Mazzuchi-Robinson, Captain John McEntagart, Renee Miller, Patrick Kosta (PK) and Pat Townsley (PT).
MIA: Tom Hutt, Erik Schramm, Marla Ballard, Chick Peterson, Geoffrey Ganiford, Nico Vonk, Ken Frazier, Walter Grey, Will Coley, Steve Rector, Michael Oliver, Wendy “LD” Furman, Sheila Groves, Barbara Harlan, Eric “The Tick” Nunnally, Biambu Garret, Marjorie McCoy, Laura Bishop, Jim Beal, Rob Riis, Laura Townsley, Matt Barsamian, Barbara Turner…and everyone else who eludes my blurry memory of years gone by. Cheers! PT