The story of the Bar & Drill goes back a few years to 1976, when we first opened our dental practice in Kentfield, California. We started our practice from scratch and consequently had no patients and quite a bit of time on our hands. Friends of ours would come over and my wife, Margaret would give them a haircut in our pump up dental chair in the spare operatory. Being a trained Sassoon stylist, she developed quite a following and soon we had patients calling up for a filling and a haircut.

Of course, we wouldn't accept any payment for the haircuts, so gifts of wine and beer started to flow into the office on a regular basis. Before we knew it, the fridge was overflowing with alcoholic beverages, so we decided to offer them on a limited basis to our patients. Well this turned out to be a smashing success, with most patients arriving 15 to 30 minutes early for 6 ounces of white wine before their dental appointments.

Of course we stocked stemware glasses and before long, the die was cast and everyone expected a glass of wine before treatment. Some patients even took a glass at their morning appointments.

At first the practice was called Joe's Bar & Drill and it really developed a life of it's own. Both our last two offices featured a wet bar in the reception area, with refrigerator, sink and wine glasses hanging upside down. This and our philosophy of practice created some notoriety which probably contributed to some of the coverage we have received over the years....ie., Herb Caen, Newsweek Magazine, Evening Magazine, PM Magazine, the Next Step, etc.

We stopped serving alcohol in 1982 and substituted herbal teas, caffeinated and decaffeinated coffee and juices. The alcohol may have gone but the wet bar and personality are alive and well.

We shortened our logo to the Bar & Drill many years ago but the etched glass door logo still adorns the entrance to our doctors private offices. We also used the Bar & Drill as the logo for our award winning newsletter series that we published for years and it even served for a short time as our website address. Who could have ever known that such humble beginnings could provide such enduring history? Well....finally the truth is known and preserved here for posterity. Long Live the Bar & Drill!!