Cyril Hackett

Introduction

Cyril Hackett is a 63-year-old San Francisco publican and Irish immigrant who owns three bars in the Haight-Ashbury neighborhood: Mad Dog in the Fog on Haight Street, Kezar Pub on Stanyan Street and, most recently, Murio’s Trophy Room. In late September 2026 he was arrested and booked into jail on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon and second-degree robbery after he allegedly returned to a neighboring clothing store with a baseball bat, hours after a parking dispute with one of its employees. Jail records show he was booked at 1:17 a.m. on Saturday, September 26, and the San Francisco Police Department describes the case as an open and active investigation.

Background Information

Hackett emigrated from Ireland in the early 1980s and spent more than four decades building a name in the Upper Haight’s bar scene. He has owned Kezar Pub, across from Kezar Stadium, for roughly two decades or more, cultivating it into a destination for 49ers, Eagles and international soccer fans, and his companies hold the liquor licenses for all three of his bars. Mad Dog in the Fog occupies a place in local music lore as one of the first venues to pay the band Train, which named a recent album after the pub and drew thousands to a free Haight Street block party outside the bar in August 2026, where Hackett appeared alongside Mayor Daniel Lurie. Through a family business he also co-owns a Christmas tree and pumpkin lot on Sloat Boulevard.

The Controversy or Incident That Led to Their Cancellation

Allegations. The claims in this section are allegations from San Francisco police statements, jail records and news reports, which describe surveillance and cellphone footage. Hackett has been arrested and booked but not convicted of anything, the case remains an open and active investigation, and he has not publicly responded to the allegations.

The confrontation began on Friday, September 25, 2026, outside Further, a Grateful Dead-themed clothing shop at 1580 Haight Street a few doors down from Mad Dog in the Fog. A Further employee had been waiting for a parking space in front of the shop to unload a van; when it opened, Hackett allegedly tried to squeeze his white BMW hatchback into it, sparking a verbal argument with the employee and onlookers. Cellphone footage recorded by a bystander shows the BMW reversing into the employee’s white van, with a friend of the employee telling Hackett, “You hit my friend, you jackass.” A friend of the employee ultimately took the spot, and the group dispersed.

About eight hours later, well after Further’s 7 p.m. closing time, the employee and a friend were watching television inside the shop when a man who appears on surveillance footage to be Hackett shoved his way through the door swinging a baseball bat, struck something out of frame, grabbed a jacket from a clothing rack and was chased out by the employee, according to the footage and witnesses. A person familiar with the situation told the San Francisco Standard that the footage does not capture Hackett allegedly hitting the employee in the leg before he got back into his car and tried to leave; onlookers intervened, one blocking the car until police arrived, while the employee called 911.

The San Francisco Police Department said officers were dispatched to the 1500 block of Haight Street at approximately 8:54 p.m. on a report of a person with a baseball bat, learned en route that a suspect had assaulted a victim, developed probable cause through the investigation, and arrested Hackett for robbery and assault with a deadly weapon. He was booked into jail about four hours later, at 1:17 a.m. Saturday, on suspicion of second-degree robbery and assault with a deadly weapon other than a firearm, according to the San Francisco Sheriff’s Office and jail records.

Public Reaction and Consequences

The arrest drew immediate coverage from San Francisco outlets and was picked up nationally by the New York Post, which branded Hackett a “notorious” landlord-baron of the Haight bar scene. SFist reported that Reddit users described a longstanding local reputation for being unpleasant to deal with, with some commenters saying they had stopped patronizing his businesses, and noting that Mad Dog in the Fog hosted a 2024 presidential debate watch party that drew nearly 200 Trump supporters — a rare GOP gathering in one of the city’s most liberal enclaves. The Standard also flagged the business stakes: under California law, a felony conviction, or a conviction for a crime involving moral turpitude, can give the state Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control grounds to suspend or revoke the liquor licenses his companies hold.

Current Status

As of the latest reporting Hackett remained the subject of an open and active SFPD investigation, and no charging decision by the district attorney had been announced. The Standard reported that Hackett could not be reached for comment, and no public statement from him or his bars has appeared in the coverage. SFPD asked anyone with information about the incident to contact its tip line.

Impact on Their Career/Life

The allegations strike directly at a four-decade bar career that had just enjoyed its highest-profile moment: a rock band naming an album after his pub and playing a mayor-attended block party outside it weeks before the arrest. Whether the felony-level suspicion hardens into charges — and whether any conviction would trigger state action against his liquor licenses — now hangs over Mad Dog in the Fog, Kezar Pub and Murio’s Trophy Room. In the meantime, his name is attached to surveillance footage of a bat-wielding intruder rather than neighborhood lore, and the published record contains nothing further about his circumstances since the booking.

Sources

• *The San Francisco Standard, “Haight bar owner arrested after alleged baseball-bat attack over parking spot”, 27 September 2026 — source
• *SFist, “Haight Street Bar Owner Accused of Hitting Employee at Nearby Store With Baseball Bat”, 28 September 2026 — source
• *New York Post (The California Post), “Notorious ‘Mad Dog in the Fog’ landlord arrested for battering rival SF bar owner with bat over parking spot”, 28 September 2026 — source