Welcome some new faces!

Welcome Tony Llanos our new Controller.











Welcome Kristel who will be working at the front desk.

Welcome Ingrid Segarra from Barcelona Spain. Ingrid will be spending a year with us doing her manangement training.

New Floor in the Bar

We finally got rid of the carpet in the bar and put down a nice new floor. We have a lot more to do and hopefully will get it done as we move through the year.

The Magical Escapade is Getting Closer

We just hung the new sign indicating the Chancellor Hotel as the home to the "Eccentrics of San Francisco's Barbary Coast."



Audiences will gather for a ninety-minute show abounding with local anecdotes and lore presented by captivating and consummate conjurers and tale-tellers. We’re partnering with the terrific folks to re-establish the San Francisco Magic Parlor in a perfect location accessible to both residents and visitors! We truly hope our long-term venture will send folks back home from the Bay Area with very magical memories of their California visit! Reservations are highly recommended due to the intimacy of our theatre, and tickets are available from: http://www.brownpapertickets/.com or 1–800–838–3006.

Further details at http://www.sanfranciscomagicparlor/.com.

PCI Standard Compliance

The Chancellor Hotel just took the next step toward guest data security and it takes a little getting used to. We upgraded our computer system to be Payment Card Industry (PCI) Standard Compliant which protects guest credit card information through encryption and limited access. From now on, when a desk agent enters a credit card number, once they enter the number, it can no longer be seen by anyone. There is only one person at the hotel that has the password to view credit card numbers. In the past, anyone that had access to the hotel system, could view an account and see the credit card number. Now, no credit card information can be viewed in the system at all. We also, no longer take a physical imprint of the card so we do not keep paper copies of the information anywhere. While this new system will provide much greater data security, if we need to re-enter a credit card number or something, we must call the guest to get it because we have no back up. Every once and a while, there is a glitch when entering credit card information and we would have to re-enter it from the imprint or from what was in the computer...no more!
If we have to ask for a number again for some reason, please bear with us, it is because we are protecting your information to the best of our ability.
Thanks for your understanding.

Ready, Set, Crack! The 7th Annual Union Square Celebrity Crab Festival.

Unbelievable! What a great day! The Rain Gods were on our side. We have had day after day of rain and the clouds parted for a beautiful day in Union Square for the 7th Annual Celebrity Crab Festival last Saturday. We have participated every year and it gets better every year.

We are proud to announce that our Chef, Darren Lacy, won the Celebrity Crab Cracking Contest. We are very proud and look forward to him defending his title next year.

Here are some of the Celebrity participants:

They include three 49er players, CBS 5, Miss Chinatown, The Fire Chief, Gold Rush Dancers, and 107.7 the Bone radio personalities.
Here is the set up waiting to get going


Here is the contest in full swing with Chef Lacy and his 49er partner

Chef Lacy Wins! Here he is with his sour dough crab crown and then back at our wine booth

A big crowd was on hand to witness the Chef's Crab Cracking Mastery

We were pouring some great Kenwood Wines and serving one of the Chef's signature items, crab cakes. People told us all day, they were the best!

Sour Dough Sam, the 49er mascot came by to congratulate us and check out the wine.
The crab items being served were great! Here are a couple samples...

What a great time! We are looking forward to next year.

Nice guest note with pictures

A guest of ours sent me the following note with some pictures, and I thought I would share the note and pictures with everyone. It really is nice and uplifting when people do things like this.

Thanks!

Dear Mr. Tyler,

Enclosed please see the photo album and please pass it to your staff. I had a wonderful staying in Chancellor Hotel and most of your hotel staff are very helpful.

Matt is a character and very cheerful!!! Rory and Michael M. at the front desk are
very helpful. The most funny thing was the last day of my staying, I found Rory working at the hotel bar. :) So I had to take a pix of him.

Susan, Alicia, Lawrence, Harris, a black guy who handles housekeeping~ they are wonderful.

For sure, I am looking forward to staying in your hotel if I go to SF in the near future.

Take care and have a nice day!

Eccentrics of San Francisco’s Barbary Coast …a magical escapade!

The Chancellor on Hotel Union Square is home to the San Francisco Magic Parlor and I wanted to share this news with everyone on my blog:

Great San Francisco news to share— welcome a new performance venue to the Bay Area!

Join us for our Grand Opening April of 2009 the charming and historic Chancellor Hotel on Union Square is home to “Eccentrics of San Francisco’s Barbary Coast …a magical escapade! ” Celebrate San Francisco’s wild, wacky, and romantic past, with world-class entertainers Spinning Tales and Weaving Enchantment.

Garnering a warm reception each time “Eccentrics of San Francisco’s Barbary Coast”…a magical escapade! has been presented, the highly praised show is now permanently housed within the San Francisco Magic Parlor at the Chancellor Hotel, 433 Powell Street, right on Union Square.

Share libations and delicacies one-half-hour before the show in our elegant and intimate theatre every Friday and Saturday Evening at 8:00pm sharp. Performance-artists Walt Anthony, David Miller, Brian Scott, and Ruth Fraser deliver wonder and wizardry to savor, bringing to life memorable portraits of wild-and-woolly characters from San Francisco’s colorful and notorious past!

Our Victorian Parlor will be elegant yet informal in ambiance —a comfortable room where both tourists and locals can experience distinctive magic with a classic theatrical flavor— without totally emptying their pocketbooks. An intimate velvet-draped stage will be the focal point of the salon, the cozy theatre seating only about three-dozen guests.

Audiences will gather for a ninety-minute show abounding with local anecdotes and lore presented by captivating and consummate conjurers and tale-tellers. We’re partnering with the terrific folks at the Chancellor Hotel to re-establish the San Francisco Magic Parlor in a perfect location accessible to both residents and visitors!

We truly hope our long-term venture will send folks back home from the Bay Area with very magical memories of their California visit! Reservations are highly recommended due to the intimacy of our theatre, and tickets are available from: http://www.brownpapertickets/.com or 1–800–838–3006.

Further details at http://www.sanfranciscomagicparlor/.com.

AT A GLANCE…

WHAT: “Eccentrics of San Francisco’ Barbary Coast”…a magical escapade
WHERE: San Francisco Magic Parlor in The Chancellor Hotel Union Square
433 Powell Street (between Post and Sutter Streets)
WHEN: Every Friday and Saturday Evening, at 8:00pm sharp
Year-round - Opening April 2009
TICKETS: $30 Entertainment Charge - Refreshments Available Before Show
http://www.brownpapertickets.com/ or 1-800-838-3006
INFO: http://www.sanfranciscomagicparlor.com/