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May 19th, 2026 Mature Content

Pat Belding: The Dream! Operating a Sports Bar in Retirement

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  1. Pat Belding: The Dream! Operating a Sports Bar in Retirement Carl Landau 56:59

Have you ever thought about your dream second act? Something you enjoy doing and you imagine what it would be like to run a fun business where you’d Love to be a customer?

Most of us wake up the next day and forget about that dream or talk ourselves out of it quick. This month’s guest, Pat Belding is actually doing it. In his mid-sixties, he’s running Frankie’s Sports bar in San Francisco. Quite a change from owning and operating his high tech marketing company. Rather than dealing with Fortune 100 companies like 3M, Cisco and Google, he’s behind the bar (managing a team of 20 employees, dealing with food and beverage vendors and keeping the bathrooms clean) while serving San Francisco Giants fans beer, cocktails and great food before and after games. And he’s loving it!

Pat is pushing way beyond his comfort zone. Three years ago, with no prior experience in the food and beverage industry, he started helping out at Frankie’s, a cool sports bar on the South Beach marina. It’s located just a stone’s throw away from Oracle Park, where the SF Giants play. Frankie’s, originally named the “Java Hut”, has a special history–it’s the Embarcadero’s oldest operating eatery for over a century.

His story is inspirational. Told with humor and humility. A true (un)retirement success story!

• More about Pat Belding: https://www.linkedin.com/in/patbelding

• More about Frankie’s Sports Bar: https://www.frankiessf.com

• Episode Content: https://pickleballmediahq.com/blog/pat-belding-interview-operating-a-sports-bar-in-retirement

• Sponsored by Capital Advantage: https://capitaladvantage.com/promotion/retirement-planning-guide

• Sponsored by How to Retire and Not Die Video Series: https://howtoretireandnotdie.com

• Subscribe to the the I Used to be Somebody Newsletter: https://pickleballmediahq.com/contact/subscribe

Carl Landau Author, Podcaster

Carl Landau is co-author of the new book, Pickleball for dummies. He has been an entrepreneur since the age of 26 and now in (un)Retirement is founder of Pickleball Media. He has started and sold three successful media companies, published five magazines (software development, winemaking and craft brewing industries). He currently hosts the popular podcast I Used to be Somebody, inspiring 50-plus-year-olds how to build their (un)retirement good life, including, of course, a little bit about the virtues of the game he loves — pickleball.