Lefty O’Doul’s proprietor clears out memorabilia, gets legal help

Proprietor Nick Bovis removes horseshoes honoring retired S.F. Police Department horses from the wall of Lefty O’Doul’s. Proprietor Nick Bovis removes horseshoes honoring retired S.F. Police Department horses from the wall of Lefty O’Doul’s. Photo: Gabrielle Lurie, The Chronicle Buy photo Photo: Gabrielle Lurie, The Chronicle Image 1 of / 15 Caption Close Lefty O’Doul’s proprietor clears out memorabilia, gets legal help 1 / 15 Back to Gallery

Flanked by attorneys and former Mayor Willie Brown, but not the sports memorabilia that lent Lefty O’Doul’s its famously cluttered coziness, proprietor Nick Bovis steadfastly insisted Monday that his family owns everything in the place and that he even plans to move the bar after the restaurant closes.

Bovis, Lefty’s proprietor since 1998, showed off his new legal help at a news conference inside the landmark Union Square bar and restaurant whose future is suddenly in question. Bovis’ lease is up Feb. 3, and he announced plans last week to reopen in a nearby location in a few months.

But his landlord, hotelier Jon Handlery, quickly claimed that he owns the business, including its name and its contents, and intends to spruce it up and reopen as Lefty O’Doul’s.

Despite being filled with customers Monday afternoon, Lefty’s had an unusually empty look and feel. Gone from the redwood-paneled walls were hundreds of pieces of memorabilia — baseball bats and boxing gloves, photographs and jerseys, all gone. Only a few pennants and beer signs remained, the rest having been taken down over the weekend and spirited away by Bovis for safekeeping at an undisclosed location.

A trademark attorney for Bovis also sent Handlery a letter Monday telling him to stop using the Lefty O’Doul’s name or claiming its ownership. Bovis has documentation that in 2009 he trademarked the Lefty O’Doul’s restaurant and bar name, as well as products ranging from Lefty O’Doul’s hot dogs to Lefty O’Doul’s mustard to Lefty O’Doul’s Bloody Mary mix. He also owns the liquor license, according to state records.

“We will not let Lefty O’Doul’s be handed over to corporate greed nor will we let it die,” Bovis said. “I don’t care how rich our landlord is or who he threatens. Lefty O’Doul’s will be alive down the street.”

Attorney Joe Cotchett criticized Handlery’s attempt to take the restaurant, alleging the theft of the name violated the law. He repeatedly referred to Handlery’s actions as “corporate theft.”

“You can’t just go steal the name and say ‘I own Lefty O’Doul’s,’” Cotchett said. “The trademark is valid. This is all about following the law.”

But Sam Singer, a spokesman for Handlery, said his client owns the business and that Bovis is merely the latest in a series of operators. Handlery, he said, owns Lefty O’Doul’s.

“They are a tenant. They have had a lease for barely 15 years, but the bar has been there for 60,” Singer said. “There has been a succession of managers. Mr. Bovis is merely one in a series of managers.”

Singer also attacked the removal of the memorabilia, and said Handlery would take legal action to see that it’s returned. Bovis said it has been cataloged and archived, and will remain in safekeeping until his new restaurant opens, probably in the fall.

Singer could not resist invoking the bar’s baseball theme to pitch his client’s case.

“Mr. Bovis has no hits, no runs and has made a terrible error by wrongly taking the memorabilia,” Singer said. “In baseball, to steal a base is acceptable, but we are not playing baseball here.”

Singer said the landlord would take legal action to retain possession of the restaurant’s memorabilia.

After the news conference, Bovis led a parade of TV cameras out the door to a spot over the front door where retired San Francisco Police Department horses and mounted officers are memorialized. He climbed a ladder, grabbed a drill and removed the plaques and horseshoes, as two mounted officers watched atop their horses.

Like everything else inside the bar, the memorial belongs to Bovis, Cotchett said.

“He has a trademark, he owns the memorabilia,” he said. “Just because someone with a lot of money and influence is trying to grab what he can grab doesn’t mean it’s legal. It seems to be the world we live in these days: Grab what you can.”

Michael Cabanatuan is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: mcabanatuan@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @ctuan