SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) — Florida head coach Todd Golden is happy to be again in San Francisco this week — a metropolis the place he started his head teaching profession. Golden leads the No. 1 seed Gators for his or her Candy 16 matchup Thursday towards No. 4 seed Maryland.
However earlier than the battle on the court docket, Golden — the top coach on the College of San Francisco from 2019-22 — needed to indicate his staff a few of his favourite locations within the space.
A kind of locations was the famed San Francisco restaurant Unique Joe’s. It is likely one of the hardest reservations to get within the metropolis, even for a multi-millionaire basketball coach like Golden. Golden reached out to the North Seaside location shortly after Florida’s win over UConn Sunday, however efforts to safe a desk had been unsuccessful.
It is arduous sufficient to get a reservation for 2 — not to mention area to accommodate 38 folks comprised of gamers, coaches and workers. As well as, there have been already three personal occasions that totally booked Unique Joe’s.
Thankfully for Golden, 39, the Italian-American eatery was in a position to make method to host the Gators staff Tuesday evening, because of the coach’s historical past with Unique Joe’s proprietor John Duggan. Unique Joe’s even shut down its open seating bar and lounge space to accommodate such a big celebration.
It is one thing the restaurant hasn’t achieved in additional than a decade.
“That is one thing we’ve solely achieved as soon as within the 13 years we’ve been open at this location,” an Unique Joe’s spokesperson mentioned in an electronic mail to KRON4. “We actually needed to make this occur for Todd and his staff, so this was a particular exception.”
“To cap it off with (Unique Joe’s) final evening. The (workers) did an unbelievable job internet hosting us. It was only a outstanding expertise,” Golden mentioned in a information convention Wednesday at Chase Heart the place the match video games will probably be held. “Our guys actually loved it; it is an expertise a number of these guys have not had — having the ability in a position to come all the best way West and be in an important metropolis like San Francisco.”
“Simply touchdown in San Francisco and driving again via town, I needed to pinch myself just a little bit. It was a full-circle second,” he mentioned.
It wasn’t simply the favored restaurant that Golden went to together with his staff. The coach took his staff to Crissy Field to take a look at world-renowned views of the Golden Gate Bridge.
Golden ordered the prime rib from Unique Joe’s.
“, being right here in San Francisco, you’ll be able to’t go mistaken (with that), he mentioned.
Golden is 72-33 in his three seasons as head coach at Florida. The Gators tip off towards Maryland at 4:39 p.m. on Thursday.
The Related Press contributed to this report.
