Manufacturer: Unknown
User: Pup Rotisserie and Hotel
Date of demi-cup: circa 1901
Notes: The Pup Rotisserie, a French restaurant and hotel, was located at 12 to 16 Stockton Street in San Francisco, California. The first mention found about the "Pup" was in the 1886 San Francisco Directory: "The Pup Rotisserie and Hotel – Adolph Schneider and François Peguilhan proprietors, 16 Stockton." (A retrospective 1919 story in the San Francisco Chronicle referred to the Pup as an "offspring of the older Poodle Dog Rotisserie on Bush Street," and it might be that the far better-known restaurant did inspire the name.)
By 1892, the Pup Rotisserie had changed hands and the new proprietor, J. Lenoir, was in the process of suing scofflaw James Murphy for $1,502.75 to settle his year-long tab for "frogs' legs a la poulette" and champagne. Frog legs were a specialty of the Pup.
In 1900, numerous ads in the San Franciso Call Bulletin began appearing, listing "nicely furnished rooms from $12 to $30 over Pup Rotisserie."
By 1902, the Pup had changed hands again with new proprietors, Jean Loupy and Louis Parisot. An article in the San Francisco Call Bulletin dated Dec. 2, 1902, (shown above) states: "'The Pup' has for years been in great favor with the public, and the establishment is noted throughout the entire country for its menu and excellent service.
"[The proprietors] have remodeled the entire establishment, fitting it up at a great expense in a most comfortable and luxurious manner, with steam heat, fast elevator, large French plate mirrors, elegant furnishing and all modern conveniences.
"The 'Pup Rotisserie' has endeavored by leaving no stone unturned in the way of accommodations, privacy and convenience to supply their patrons with an establishment that will please the most exacting. The building is of four stories, the first floor of which contains the main dining room and cafe. The second floor consists of private dining rooms for families and private parties. There is also a large, magnificent banquet hall on the second floor, which is beyond doubt. The upper floors consist of apartments of single rooms and suites, and are furnished as any in the city."
In October 1904, a story in the Oakland Tribune describes a divorce suit filed by co-owner Loupy's wife Lucy against her husband. In it she makes "sensational charges … against the Pup Rotisserie." As part of her complaint, she said that she was "compelled to leave the restaurant because she would not be a party to the vile practices her husband not only overlooked but encouraged. The Pup Rotisserie …. is a notorious house of assignation, consisting of a dining room on the lower floor and a large number of suites of rooms upstairs, each consisting of a dining room and connection bedroom. Lewd and lascivious persons continually resort there.
"With the connivance and consent of the defendant [Jean Loupy] said suites of rooms are used by bad men for the purpose of getting young girls intoxicated or made unconscious by knock-out drops and accomplishing their ruin."
Some three months later, in January of 1905, the Loupys' divorce was settled mostly out of court, and Lucy's divorce petition on the grounds of cruelty was granted; Pup's was not mentioned in the court hearing.
In April 1906, the Pup Rotisserie, like more than 80 percent of the city, was destroyed in the Great San Francisco earthquake and fire.
White body demi-cup with a royal blue pinstripe around the top and a black pinstripe underneath it. There is also a black pinstripe around the foot of the base, and another on the back of the handle. On the front of the cup (opposite the handle) is a brown and tan drawing of a sitting puppy with a light blue ribbon around its neck. The cup's backstamp is stamped simply with: Made Especially for Pup's. It is the drawing of the puppy that makes the ID, because as shown above, the same drawing made its way into ads such as in The San Francisco Daily Times (Volume 9, Page 27 (1901) and The Town Talk periodical (February 23, 1901).
Sources:
San Francisco Directory of 1886 – listing for the restaurant/hotel
The Daily Encinal dated May 10, 1894 – story about suit to recover tab
San Francisco Call Bulletin various dates in 1900 – ads for furnished rooms
San Francisco Daily Times, Vol. 9, page 27, 1901 – ad with the same puppy illustration
The Town Talk periodical, February 23, 1901 – ad with the same puppy illustration
The San Francisco Call Bulletin Dec 2, 1902 – story about reopening
Oakland Tribune dated October 1904 – story about divorce petition
OpenSFHistory – photos dated 1898 and 1906
Contributors:
Roland Burritt: ID, research
Susan Phillips: cup photos and research
Ed Phillips: author