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An exclusive interview with owner Perry Butler who gave us the scoop on the inspiration behind Perry’s, his favorite dishes and how he feels about arriving at the San Francisco Design Center.

Originally from the East Coast, Perry Butler, then an adventure seeking 26-year-old Dartmouth graduate and avid baseball fan, decided to follow his favorite team (the New York Giants) out West and immediately fell in love with the city on which he would make an unforgettable mark. After returning from Vietnam, he moved to San Francisco and found a job in advertising to foot the bills. “I knew this wasn’t what I wanted to do. I didn’t love it,” said Butler. Perry’s wife at the time, Katharine, encouraged him to open a restaurant they could both enjoy and so began the four-decade-long love affair we know today as Perry’s.

Inspired by New York’s fine dining, Perry set out to recreate a fun, casual, Upper East Side style restaurant. He found the location on Union Street by pure luck. Perry was living in the Marina; back then, it was a much more residential than commercial neighborhood, but the area was getting ready for a big change. Perry’s was on the front end of that change and in August 1969 the doors opened with a bang.

Without any PR strategies in place, Perry’s on Union flourished. It was the right place at the right time. “A lot of good fortune was involved, and a lot of good things happened. It was great but it was crazy. We hired good people who stayed for years. People came in for the warm friendly service and quality food, and they kept coming back. Generations of customers return and that’s what makes me proud,” Butler adds.

Perry is thrilled about coming to the Design Center and beginning a new chapter in this novel of success. Not only is his catering company, Union Street Catering going to be servicing SFDC’s special events, but there will also be a lively cocktail hour. “I’m excited to come to an ultra-cool building in a great part of town. We’re hoping to stir up some fun and excitement,” says Butler. What might be a challenge in some regards, Perry feels will turn out to be success; a success he will undoubtedly credit to his staff who he says are the ones that make the good things happen everyday.

Most people would find it difficult to pick a favorite item off the classic menu, but when asked, Perry answered without hesitation. His go-to dishes are Corned Beef Hash for brunch, a chopped salad for lunch and for dinner he recommends a recipe that was created and perfected six years ago: good old spaghetti and meatballs.