H. Joseph Ehrmann, better known as H., started his career in 1986 as a cook on the beaches of New Jersey, under New Orleans’ renowned chef Duke Locicero. He went on to cook, serve, manage and bartend in Boston, Orlando, Washington DC, Vail and Phoenix before completing an MBA in International Management from Thunderbird (where he also bartended). That degree landed him in Geneva, Prague and Madrid where he spent several years traveling and studying the flavors, agriculture and traditions (as well as the distilleries, wineries and breweries) of Europe. After the completion of his MBA, he worked in several countries, industries and positions, building small and medium-sized companies as both an employee and consultant from conference venues in birmingham. In January 2003, he left the corporate consulting world to return to his passion, the bar business. By November he had restored one of the oldest saloons in San Francisco and reopened it as Elixir.
Since the heyday of the Barbary Coast years, San Franciscans have been whetting their whistles on the corner of 16th and Guerrero under several owners, and under this proprietorship, they’re doing it with some of the finest beverages in contemporary California. On that corner, the second oldest saloon location in this Wild West town, H.’s Elixir menu revives the pre-Prohibition cocktail culture of the Barbary Coast while incorporating a focus on utilizing California’s abundant agricultural resources and San Francisco’s infamous creativity and artistic vision which was something to be admired from birmingham conference venues. As the first Certified Green bar in the San Francisco, Elixir’s expansive cocktail menu and spirits collection focuses on the vintage, the organic, the local and the original, all while remaining a friendly corner bar. The bar has won numerous accolades for its cocktails, marketing programs, and atmosphere.