• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

The Glen Park Association

Up-to-the-minute news from Glen Park

  • Home
  • Glen Park Association
    • About the Glen Park Association
    • Join the GPA
    • GPA Board Contacts
    • Bylaws
    • Neighborhood boundaries
    • Financials
    • GPA Meeting Minutes
  • News Stories
    • Glen Park News
    • Glen Park News archive
  • Greenway
    • About
    • Greenway Plan
  • GPA Grants Program
  • Crime & Safety
  • Contact
    • Contact
    • Volunteer Sign Ups
    • Event Submission
    • Author Submissions

10th Anniversary Retrospective: Remembering Tom Coulter, Owner of Glen Park Station Bar

April 26, 2017 by Bonnee Waldstein

To celebrate the Glen Park Association Website turning ten years old, we are reposting some of our favorite stories from the last ten years.


New photos by Bonnee Waldstein. Old photos courtesy of Rene Lecour

Trendy bars and restaurants have come and gone in the dozen or so years since Glen Park has become a well known and highly desirable neighborhood in San Francisco. One stalwart constant in the Glen Park village since 1926 has been the Glen Park Station bar. That was the year the building was moved from some other unknown part of the City. In fact, its very authenticity might make it hip and trendy itself.

Tom Coulter and his business partner and best friend of almost thirty years, Rene Lecour,now 63, purchased the bar in 1990, and the building itself in 1997. They didn’t change anything except to clean it up a bit and paint the walls. Originally the floors were carpeted, but they’ve been replaced with wood, many times over.

Tom, whose last home was in San Carlos, passed away on March 30 of pneumonia and a blood infection at age 72. An obituary which detailed his life, family, and business career, appeared in the April 9 issue of the San Francisco Chronicle.

http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/sfgate/obituary.aspx?page=lifestory&pid=185024081

FullSizeRender
Tom Coulter (L) and bartender Richard Underhill

After a memorial celebration at the bar on April 15, co-owner — now owner — Rene Lecour sat down (on a barstool) to reminisce about her friend. With her was her daughter, Catherine, 26, who has been taking on increasing duties at the bar for the last two years.

Rene told of Tom’s love of conversation. Years ago, when he was in college, Glen Park resident Jeff Sparks would frequent the bar to study and drink — coffee. Tom was a staunch Republican and he would get Jeff started on politics. They were always on opposite sides and they would have at it. Tom would often counter their disagreements with, “Now if only you would have caught me when I was drinking, I would have made a much better argument!”

With the passage of time, Tom, an admitted alcoholic, stopped drinking. He also voted for Barack Obama. The older he got the more Democratic he became. He was very pro-choice and would say he didn’t know how people could tell others what to do with their bodies. He was very adamant and that would sway his vote.

The bar was, and continues to be, a happy place. When Tom was tending bar on weekends during his drinking years, two characters, Bill and Roland, used to come in. They’d “buy” Tom a drink (Scotch). As soon as Tom set the drink down to tend bar, Bill or Roland would drink it. So then they’d “buy” Tom another drink. Tom thought he’d outsmart this ruse and placed his drink on the back counter, out of reach, and get busy again.

When Tom could finally turn his attention back to that drink, he found that Bill and Roland had used a load of straws to build a bridge from the bar to the back counter, where the giant straw would terminate in Tom’s drink. This procedure was repeated over and over for years.

Kidding aside, Tom had his standards. All bartenders must wear shirts and ties. No one knows that better than Richard Underhill, a 20-year veteran bartender at the Glen Park Station. Other important rules: zero tolerance regarding drugs; also fighting — no matter who threw the first punch. Thus the customers are a self-regulating and de-escalating group.

The clientele covers every demographic, “from 21 to 99!,” says Rene. Blue collar, white collar and everything in between; lots of teachers and even a politician or two. Customers say things like, “I could go to any bar for a drink– I come here to see my friends, the other folks, and for the atmosphere.”

FullSizeRender2
Early afternoon
FullSizeRender
Friday after work

The Glen Park Station has a colorful history. Its first year, 1926, was at the height of Prohibition. Rumor has it that it operated as a speakeasy. There was a door dividing the front of the establishment from the rear. The front area was presumably a sort of coffee shop. A secret knock on the door would allow certain customers access to enjoy the true intention of the Glen Park Station.

The owner at that time, Joe Veloni, lived upstairs and raised nine kids in a three-bedroom apartment. (One of his sons was named Tony Veloni.) Joe hung out a lot with a couple of wannabe gangster buddies.

FullSizeRender3
Joe Veloni (far right), 1920s

Today,whooping and hollering can be heard coming from the bar over a big game, and many photos of athletes hang on the walls. But the Glen Park Station was never billed as a sports bar. Tom and Rene dubbed it an upscale neighborhood bar.
C04D55FE-0C94-4AB6-819A-8D76BA9EA069

There’s a generational divide in referring to the bar. The older ones call it The Station; the younger crowd just texts “I’m at GPS.”

If there’s a sad side to the Glen Park Station, it’s that with the passage of so much time, customers–and their relatives–are passing away. “Deaths are more frequent than weddings or baby showers. Yes, we’ve had baby showers here too,” said Rene. Daughter Catherine added that, even when sad things happen, it doesn’t leave a bad feeling in the air at the Glen Park Station.

Another sad thing was when Rene moved to North Carolina with her family in 2004, and that affected Tom deeply.

Since she’s been back temporarily in Glen Park, Rene has heard wonderful things about the cohesion and friendliness of the Glen Park community. She will continue as owner of the bar, alone, but with Catherine’s help.

3F85B146-9E5C-458D-AF66-2D65E8CAE539
Rene Lecour (R) and daughter Catherine

As to what’s next for the bar itself, things will remain as they are, with one big exception — Tom won’t be there to share a laugh or two.
8F368DDC-4BD3-42A3-8B6C-20A29953105C

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Primary Sidebar

IMPORTANT UPCOMING DATES

Arlington Path Beautification
Saturday, July 19, 10 a.m. to noon
Meet at 300 Mateo (x Arlington) for an exciting day of weeding, watering, seed collecting.
Tools, gloves and good company provided.


2025 Glen Park Night Market poster


 


Monthly cleanup on the Greenway
First Saturday of the Month (usually)
Click here to learn more


Friends of Glen Canyon’s
Glen Canyon Habitat Restoration
Every third Saturday 9:30 a.m to noon
Sign up here

Subscribe to this Newsletter

Sign Up for Glen Park Association News Updates:

* indicates required

Check It Out at the Glen Park Library

Click the above button or here to see all upcoming Glen Park Branch Library events. Subscribe to the Glen Park Library monthly newsletter to get events highlights in your inbox.

Glen Park Rec Center

Glen Canyon Park sign
Click the above button or here to see
the latest Glen Park Rec Center schedule.



Saturdays 3-4:45 p.m.
Questions? Call 415-239-4007


 

Renew Your Glen Park Association Membership for 2025

Join the Glen Park Association and help promote our community’s interests. Together, we can secure improvement funds, publicize neighborhood concerns and strive to speak as one voice on neighborhood and city issues.

Membership in the Glen Park Association is only $10 annually and can be purchased online.

Glen Park Association Advertising Sponsors

JE_Digital Small Space Ad
Diamond Heights Digital Ad
GPA Ad- Perez Construction ad 6.27.22 v Glen Park
moroco
Center for Creative Exploration - adult
JE_Digital Small Space Ad
Diamond Heights Digital Ad
GPA Ad- Perez Construction ad 6.27.22 v Glen Park
moroco
Center for Creative Exploration - adult
previous arrow
next arrow
Shadow

Current Weather & Air Quality

Glen Park featured on…

FacebookSF ChronInstagramTwitter

Join the Glen Park Association on Facebook

Comments Box SVG iconsUsed for the like, share, comment, and reaction icons
Glen Park Association is at Glen Park Greenway.
12 hours ago
Glen Park Association

Saturday’s Glen Park Greenway Work Party is Cancelled.

“I’m very sorry to say that
we have cancelled our Work Party for this Saturday July 12, along with all organized volunteer activity on the Greenway until further notice.
As you may have read in the news, our fiscal sponsor, San Francisco Parks Alliance (SFPA), has shut itself down. Just as SFPA has shut itself down, the Greenway, as an organized part of SFPA, has also been “shut down.” We are busy looking for a suitable alternative fiscal sponsor that is willing to replace SFPA. That search is going well but it is a slow process. We had hoped to find temporary ways to enable the Greenway project to function responsibly as a community activity without a fiscal sponsor. Sadly, despite our best efforts and the help of many others in Glen Park, we have failed. That is why we must cancel our Saturday Work Party and discontinue future work parties and other organized volunteer activity on the Greenway (like weeding and watering) until further notice. We recognize that the Greenway is public open space and that the organizers of the Greenway project have no control over the activities of you or of anyone else on the Greenway. However, if you do venture onto the Greenway to satisfy your urge for outdoor recreation, please be aware that your activity is not in any way organized or sanctioned by the organizers of the Glen Park Greenway project. I’m well aware of the efforts that many of the
Greenway’s supporters are making to get the Greenway organized with a new fiscal sponsor and I’m confident that this will be arranged within weeks or perhaps a few months.
However long it takes, I will contact you with news of our progress.
Many thanks for all that you do for the Greenway.”

Nicholas Dewar, volunteer Project Director

#glenparkgreenway #glenparksf #sanfrancisco @rafaelmandelmand8 @danielluriesf @crosstowntrail
#crosstowntrail #sfparksalliance #publicspace #nature
... See MoreSee Less

Play
View on Facebook
· Share
Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email
View Comments
  • likes sad 3
  • Shares: 0
  • Comments: 1

1 CommentComment on Facebook

Wonder what’s stopping just organizing it separate from that non-profit. It seems like the volunteers largely come from Glen Park.

Glen Park Association is at Laidley Street SFO.
4 days ago
Glen Park Association

It was a beautiful day for the annual #july4th celebration on Laidley street!

📷: Photos courtesy of Michael Waldstein

#glenparksf #sanfrancisco #laidley
... See MoreSee Less

It was a beautiful day for the annual #july4th celebration on Laidley street! 

📷: Photos courtesy of Michael Waldstein 

#glenparksf #sanfrancisco #laidley
View on Facebook
· Share
Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email
View Comments
  • likes love 13
  • Shares: 0
  • Comments: 0

0 CommentsComment on Facebook

Blog Roll

Coyote Yipps
Friends of Upper Noe Recreation Center
Glen Park Neighborhoods History Project
Open SF History
Sunnyside Conservatory
Sunnyside History
Sunnyside Neighborhood Association
Tramps of San Francisco
Upper Noe Neighbors

Copyright © 2025 · Metro Pro on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in