Jeannette Etheredge
"Whatever You Are, Be A Good One."
- Quotation displayed behind the bar at Tosca Cafe.
Obituary
Jeannette Etheredge, legendary proprietor of San Francisco’s Tosca Cafe and beloved North Beach icon, passed away peacefully in Knoxville, Tennessee on June 12, 2026, attended by her family.
Born in Tsingtao (Qingdao), China, to Armenian parents Aram and Armen Baliantz, Jeannette’s early life was shaped by extraordinary resilience. Her mother’s parents fled the Armenian Genocide in 1915, settling in Manchuria before moving to Qingdao, a treaty-port on the northern China coast. During World War II, the family endured internment in a Japanese prison camp for four years, then sheltered briefly in a refugee camp in the Philippines after the communist revolution swept through China. They eventually immigrated to San Francisco in 1950, when Jeannette was nine years old.
Her mother Armen, renowned in San Francisco for her grace and old-world charm, opened the acclaimed Bali’s Restaurant, which became a gathering spot for performers, artists, writers, and filmmakers. Armen’s deep love of ballet led to close friendships with legends like Rudolf Nureyev and Mikhail Baryshnikov, connections that Jeannette carried forward.
Jeannette became a US citizen on January 10, 1956. She attended Mercy High School and then briefly served in the US State Department as a Russian language interpreter at the United Nations in New York. She returned to San Francisco and studied at the San Francisco Art Institute, where she met her former husband, William Etheredge, a fellow student at the Institute. They married in 1965 and had a son, Devin, in 1968.
In 1980, Jeannette purchased Tosca Cafe, one of San Francisco’s oldest bars (est. 1919), transforming it into a legendary North Beach institution. Under her stewardship of more than three decades, Tosca Cafe became renowned not just for its Prohibition-era ‘house cappuccino’, an espresso-steamed hot chocolate cocktail braced with a shot of brandy, but as a sanctuary of warmth, stories, and unpretentious glamour.
In her famous ‘back room’ at Tosca’s she hosted an eclectic mix of regulars, artists, writers, and celebrities—including Sean Penn, Francis Ford Coppola, Mayor Willie Brown, Hunter S. Thompson, Philip Kaufman, Sam Shepard, Lauren Hutton and many others—while honoring the Tosca Cafe motto: “Whatever you are, be a good one.” She was known for her charisma, wit, storytelling, and ability to make everyone feel at home.
A true San Francisco original and personality, Jeannette presided over Tosca with innate style and dedication until handing over the keys to new owners in 2013. She remained a cherished part of the community, celebrated in oral histories, podcasts, and tributes for her role in preserving North Beach’s vibrant spirit. She served on the boards of the North Beach Citizens, the San Francisco Film Society and the San Francisco International Film Festival in addition to being a major fund raiser for the St. Mary’s Medical Center Foundation.
She is survived by her nephew, Peter Ridet, famous in his own right as the manager-front man of Tosca Cafe, her nephew and niece Eric and Zoey Baliantz, and her son and daughter-in-law Devin and Deborah Etheredge.
Jeannette Etheredge’s life was one of resilience, hospitality, and indelible presence. She elevated a neighborhood historic bar into a living piece of San Francisco history, where countless memories were made over cappuccinos and conversations. She will be deeply missed, but her legacy endures in the stories shared at Tosca and across the city she loved.
Timeline
1940
June 18th
Birth
First child born to Aram and Armen Baliantz after their marriage in 1939.
Qingdao (Tsingtao), China
1941
December 7th
Japanese Internment
With the beginning of World War Two in the Pacific, Japan impounds all foreign nationals residing in their occupied territories into mass internment camps. The Baliantz family will be imprisoned along with 2000 others at the Shantung Compound in northern China.
Shantung Compound, China
1945
August
Liberation
Japan surrenders. American troops liberate Shantung Compound. The family returns to live in Qingdao.
Qingdao, China
1948
Refugees
The Baliantz family is forced to flee China in the wake of the communist revolution. They spend over a year in an International Refugee Organization camp in the Philippines.
Luzon, Philippines
1950
Arrival in America
The family immigrates to the United States and soon opens Bali's Restaurant in San Francisco.
San Francisco, California
1956
June
US Citizenship
Jeannette becomes a Naturalized United States Citizen while attending Mercy High School.
San Francisco
1960
Translator at the United Nations
Jeannette works for the US State department, primarily as a Russian language interpreter at the UN General Assembly.
New York
1964
San Francisco Art Institute
Jeannette begins studies at the Art Institute majoring in art history.
North Beach, San Francisco
1965
January 8th
Married
Jeannette marries William Etheredge, a classmate studying sculpture at the Art Institute
1968
January
Motherhood
Jeannette and William have a son, Devin.
French Hospital (now Kaiser-French Campus), San Francisco
1974
June
Separation
Jeannette and William go their own ways. Jeannette continues to work with her mother at Bali's Restaurant.
1980
April 7th
Tosca Cafe
Jeannette buys Tosca Cafe. This North Beach drinking establishment is one of the oldest in the city (est. 1919), and a sentimental favorite for her.
North Beach, San Francisco
1981
Film Society
Joins the Board of the San Francisco Film Society. Tosca's becomes a social hub of the San Francisco International Film Festival.
1983
January 21st
Loss of her brother
Arthur, her younger brother, dies tragically in a motorcycle accident.
San Francisco
2001
North Beach Citizens
Jeannette becomes an original board member of North Beach Citizens - A charity founded by her long-time friend Francis Ford Coppola to address homelessness in the North Beach neighborhood.
2007
August 2nd
Loss of her mother
Armen dies of natural causes at the age of 86.
St. Mary's Medical Center, San Francisco
2013
May
Tosca is sold
After 33 years, Jeannette hands Tosca Cafe over to a new set of owners.
2023
March
Move to Knoxville.
Jeannette leaves San Francisco, to be cared for by her son and daughter-in-law.
Knoxville, Tennessee
2026
June 12th
Passing
Jeannette dies peacefully at home only six days before her 86th birthday.
Gallery
Memory wall
Post a message or share your memories and photos.
June 30, 2026
First, this story that Jeannette sometimes told: the previous owners of Tosca were Italian-Americans who thought The Godfather had besmirched the image of folks like them, so Francis was persona non grata. When Jeannette bought it from them, once the ink was dry on the sales documents Jeannette called Francis and proposed they meet at Tosca. “They won’t let me in,” Francis reminded her. Jeannette - “They don’t own it anymore. I do. C’mon over!”
When I directed the San Francisco International Film Festival from 1984 to 1999, Jeannette was on the board of Directors, and its Chair was George Gund III. George was the most eager and generous film buff I've ever encountered. There were stories that before he came into his family money, he'd volunteered at the Festival by helping to lug around film cans - in those days of 35mm film, a feature would fill three or four cases, and they weighed a lot! I never learned how he moved from film schlepper to Chaiman of the Board, but once he had that title, and a private plane, he made possible many adventures which could never have taken place without his generosity, Only one of the noteworthy stories was how he enabled Philip Kaufman's THE UNBEARABLE LIGHTNESS OF BEING to be screened at the Moscow Film Festival in 1988. Afraid of its being pirated, the US distributors were reluctant to send a copy, til George offered to bring it on his plane with the understanding that it would go directly from there to the cinema, after which it would immediately be returned and flown back to the U.S. The screening was in the early days of "glasnost and perestroika," a new time of openness of which many in the West were still suspicious. The film, based on an "unfilmable' novel by the Czech novelist Milan Kundera, depicted a love story between Juliet Binoche and Daniel Day Lewis set against a background ot the events of the Prague Spring in 1968 during which Soviet tanks crushed the non-violent Czech rebels, When images of that event hit the screen in Moscow and the packed house of Russian viewers booed, it was undeniable proof that "glasnost and perestroika" were the real thing, and that screening in Moscow was history-making.
But back to Jeannette and Tosca! Every year the officlal closing night party of the San Francisco International Film Festival would end shortly after 1 AM. But then the festival's key staff, a few of its filmmaker-guests who were still in town, and a few dozen others, would gather at ...Tosca. Officially, SF bars closed at 2AM. But Jeannette's closeness to the SFPD meant they looked the other way when a hundred or so guests entered the door of the "closed" bar. For the next few hours, the kitchen was opened, the only time each year that happened, and George Gund would cook caviar omelets for all the guests, accompanied by delicious loaves of freshly baked Italian bread from bakeries in the neighborhood. The pool room in the back stayed open and active til dawn, the brandy-laced "espressos" were poured nonstop, It was only when THAT party would down just as the sun was coming up that that year's edition of the SFIFF was really and truly closed.
When I directed the San Francisco International Film Festival from 1984 to 1999, Jeannette was on the board of Directors, and its Chair was George Gund III. George was the most eager and generous film buff I've ever encountered. There were stories that before he came into his family money, he'd volunteered at the Festival by helping to lug around film cans - in those days of 35mm film, a feature would fill three or four cases, and they weighed a lot! I never learned how he moved from film schlepper to Chaiman of the Board, but once he had that title, and a private plane, he made possible many adventures which could never have taken place without his generosity, Only one of the noteworthy stories was how he enabled Philip Kaufman's THE UNBEARABLE LIGHTNESS OF BEING to be screened at the Moscow Film Festival in 1988. Afraid of its being pirated, the US distributors were reluctant to send a copy, til George offered to bring it on his plane with the understanding that it would go directly from there to the cinema, after which it would immediately be returned and flown back to the U.S. The screening was in the early days of "glasnost and perestroika," a new time of openness of which many in the West were still suspicious. The film, based on an "unfilmable' novel by the Czech novelist Milan Kundera, depicted a love story between Juliet Binoche and Daniel Day Lewis set against a background ot the events of the Prague Spring in 1968 during which Soviet tanks crushed the non-violent Czech rebels, When images of that event hit the screen in Moscow and the packed house of Russian viewers booed, it was undeniable proof that "glasnost and perestroika" were the real thing, and that screening in Moscow was history-making.
But back to Jeannette and Tosca! Every year the officlal closing night party of the San Francisco International Film Festival would end shortly after 1 AM. But then the festival's key staff, a few of its filmmaker-guests who were still in town, and a few dozen others, would gather at ...Tosca. Officially, SF bars closed at 2AM. But Jeannette's closeness to the SFPD meant they looked the other way when a hundred or so guests entered the door of the "closed" bar. For the next few hours, the kitchen was opened, the only time each year that happened, and George Gund would cook caviar omelets for all the guests, accompanied by delicious loaves of freshly baked Italian bread from bakeries in the neighborhood. The pool room in the back stayed open and active til dawn, the brandy-laced "espressos" were poured nonstop, It was only when THAT party would down just as the sun was coming up that that year's edition of the SFIFF was really and truly closed.
June 28, 2026
As a longtime member of the St. Mary's Hospital family I have known Jeannette and Devin and Armen inside and out!
And Tosca has always been my favorite North Beach bar. In later years, we would go out for lunch or dinner and she would frequently grace me with an egg salad sandwich at the office.
Jeannette was a force to be reckoned with. Sometimes difficult to get a word in edgewise, but what fun. Generous, witty and never really wicked, she would always turn a favor even at a last minute notice.
San Francisco was her family and I am happy she was able to enjoy her last years with Devin and Deb.
A lovely friend and will be missed.
And Tosca has always been my favorite North Beach bar. In later years, we would go out for lunch or dinner and she would frequently grace me with an egg salad sandwich at the office.
Jeannette was a force to be reckoned with. Sometimes difficult to get a word in edgewise, but what fun. Generous, witty and never really wicked, she would always turn a favor even at a last minute notice.
San Francisco was her family and I am happy she was able to enjoy her last years with Devin and Deb.
A lovely friend and will be missed.
June 23, 2026
I wish I'd known Jeanette longer. She was a pleasure to talk to at the Tennova Y, and the 1st person I've known to put in a song request in Jess's class at the Y. Jess was so kind to accommodate her request. Blessings and peace to her family and friends.
June 22, 2026
Devin & Deb, and Peter. I am so very sorry and sad for your loss. Jeannette meant a lot to me. Met her when she insisted Willie Brown get a passport for Koko the talking gorilla, Koko wanted to visit her Italian “boyfriend” to make a baby. Working for Mr. Brown and hanging with Jeannette, you had to have a strong sense of right and wrong: they were always right and heaven help you if you were wrong.
She adored St. Mary’s hospital and worked with me to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars for it. Did not shy from giving her doctors every opinion on all her ailments and loaded her rolodex with all their precious cell phones.
The teeny office was her smoking sanctorum. That single visitor chair crammed against her desk - made sure I knew Johnny Depp’s ass and mine graced the same chair.
In a small package she packed a lot of smart, funny, generosity, and irresistible force. Hilarious memory from her latest neighbor Larry Ward – I’ve heard the same al dente lecture to many CA restaurants.
2 favorite stories: After Armen died her Cartier clock stopped. J took it to the Cartier watch specialist and explained in detail she couldn’t figure out why it was broken. He replied in a most dismissive voice, “Madame, this clock works by winding it.”
J said, "I was in the car with Nancy, who had Parkinsons and couldn’t talk. For the whole trip I had to do all the talking. I’ve never had such a good time!"
She adored St. Mary’s hospital and worked with me to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars for it. Did not shy from giving her doctors every opinion on all her ailments and loaded her rolodex with all their precious cell phones.
The teeny office was her smoking sanctorum. That single visitor chair crammed against her desk - made sure I knew Johnny Depp’s ass and mine graced the same chair.
In a small package she packed a lot of smart, funny, generosity, and irresistible force. Hilarious memory from her latest neighbor Larry Ward – I’ve heard the same al dente lecture to many CA restaurants.
2 favorite stories: After Armen died her Cartier clock stopped. J took it to the Cartier watch specialist and explained in detail she couldn’t figure out why it was broken. He replied in a most dismissive voice, “Madame, this clock works by winding it.”
J said, "I was in the car with Nancy, who had Parkinsons and couldn’t talk. For the whole trip I had to do all the talking. I’ve never had such a good time!"
June 22, 2026
Jeannette – or, as I called her, “Kit” – was a remarkable force of nature. She was loyal and kind, and whether you were a prince or a pauper, she welcomed you into her famous watering hole – and her heart – with curiosity and laughter.
We became instant friends after smoking far too many cigarettes together at a Robert Duvall screening in 1998. Some of my fondest memories are of the old Farmers Market, where we met for breakfast every Saturday at the little café at Front & Union. The people gathered there, and the stories they told, were, like Jeannette’s remarkable life, a vibrant window into the very best San Francisco had to offer.
Jeannette gave advice like a splash of cold water: refreshing, and many times shocking. But at her core she would move mountains for the people she loved. I was fortunate to be one of them.
Devin, Deb and Pete, I send you my love.
Rest in peace, dear Kit. “There is no one finer.”
xo, Tucker
We became instant friends after smoking far too many cigarettes together at a Robert Duvall screening in 1998. Some of my fondest memories are of the old Farmers Market, where we met for breakfast every Saturday at the little café at Front & Union. The people gathered there, and the stories they told, were, like Jeannette’s remarkable life, a vibrant window into the very best San Francisco had to offer.
Jeannette gave advice like a splash of cold water: refreshing, and many times shocking. But at her core she would move mountains for the people she loved. I was fortunate to be one of them.
Devin, Deb and Pete, I send you my love.
Rest in peace, dear Kit. “There is no one finer.”
xo, Tucker
June 22, 2026
I’ve had the pleasure of knowing and being a friend of Jeannette for the last 3 years as her next door neighbor, gym buddy and avid listener of her life’s many stories and trials. She enjoyed meeting people and learning their stories. She couldn’t pass up a baby or family with children.
Jeannette was a person of opinions. We searched long and hard after our gym outings to find just the right restaurant for lunch. She was able to finally find the perfect BLT at Shoney’s . Aubrey’s Restaurant here in Powell Tn. made the approved pasta after she instructed the chef and manager on contents and preparation. ChickFillet made her favorite soup.
Friday gym time was followed by a trip to the O Conner Senior Center for jam band and fellowship with the musicians. Dancing was not ruled out.
I’ll miss my friend and neighbor but honor her life and spirit.
Jeannette was a person of opinions. We searched long and hard after our gym outings to find just the right restaurant for lunch. She was able to finally find the perfect BLT at Shoney’s . Aubrey’s Restaurant here in Powell Tn. made the approved pasta after she instructed the chef and manager on contents and preparation. ChickFillet made her favorite soup.
Friday gym time was followed by a trip to the O Conner Senior Center for jam band and fellowship with the musicians. Dancing was not ruled out.
I’ll miss my friend and neighbor but honor her life and spirit.
June 21, 2026
I first met Jeannette in the mid-90s, my first year at the SF International Film Festival. I had just started when a family emergency called my new boss away for weeks. I was barely out of college and had zero experience in producing events. But I was given one piece of advice: “Talk to Jeannette. She knows everyone.” Best advice ever.
Jeannette was generous with both her contacts and her opinions. While I was grateful for the former, I grew to appreciate the latter. She suffered no fools. Invaluable training for my future life. Before I left for LA to work in film, Jeannette told (and I do mean told) Francis Coppola to hire me. He interviewed me in his Godfather-style office, but I could feel that it was merely a formality. Jeannette was the ultimate consigliere.
I will be forever grateful for her kindness to me, even on her grouchiest days. Her snarky humor was legendary, but it's her generosity that I will remember most. There will never be another like her.
Sending love to Devin, Deborah, and Peter.
Jeannette was generous with both her contacts and her opinions. While I was grateful for the former, I grew to appreciate the latter. She suffered no fools. Invaluable training for my future life. Before I left for LA to work in film, Jeannette told (and I do mean told) Francis Coppola to hire me. He interviewed me in his Godfather-style office, but I could feel that it was merely a formality. Jeannette was the ultimate consigliere.
I will be forever grateful for her kindness to me, even on her grouchiest days. Her snarky humor was legendary, but it's her generosity that I will remember most. There will never be another like her.
Sending love to Devin, Deborah, and Peter.
June 21, 2026
The world premiere of "Milk" at The Castro Theater
June 21, 2026
The memories of the wonderful times spent with both Jeannette and Armen are flooding in. Warm summer days spent at the Golden Gateway Center pool teaching Devin and Peter how to swim. Thanksgivings at Tosca. Christmases at Jeannette‘s apartment. Going to Tosca on Wednesdays when Jeannette was taking deliveries. Armen would be there as well and would put out a huge tin of caviar on the bar which my then 3-year old son Charlie scooped up. Sometimes I’d go down to Tosca just to chat- toddler in tow. Jeannette would hide us in the back room since Charlie clearly wasn’t 21. Jeannette was Charlie’s godmother. Armen mine. One picture of Jeannette makes me laugh. During a performance one night at the Opera House, performing a particularly difficult solo, I kept spotting Jeannette, who was in the downstage right wing- practically on stage. I kept trying to figure out what Jeannette was doing there. Once I exited- conveniently in that same wing-she asked how long it would take me to get dressed. She was really hungry and wanted to go out for burgers. I told her I only needed to take off my makeup and she said don’t even bother. Let’s get out of here. I didn’t even take off the false lashes.
Jeannette gave so much to the city and to her friends. Funny, witty, sharp- and always entertaining. She was a good friend. Devin- sending heartfelt condolences to you and your family.
Jeannette gave so much to the city and to her friends. Funny, witty, sharp- and always entertaining. She was a good friend. Devin- sending heartfelt condolences to you and your family.
June 21, 2026
More of Jeannette !!!
June 21, 2026
The women of SF
June 21, 2026
Gina and Jeannette in Italy
June 21, 2026
Many memories from the age of 16 on up
Rest Well. Or have a whole lot of fun whatever awaits you
Rest Well. Or have a whole lot of fun whatever awaits you
June 20, 2026
In honor of our dear friend, original Board member, and longtime supporter, Jeanette Etheredge. 💛
Jeanette was one of a kind. She always had a story to tell, an opinion to share, and if you sat down with her, you could count on hearing a little insider information. Beneath her sharp wit, candid observations, and unmistakable personality was an unwavering love for North Beach and the people who made it special. Jeanette's generosity and steadfast support of North Beach Citizens touched countless lives over the years. She understood the humanness of struggle and believed deeply in showing up for others with compassion, dignity, and heart. She opened doors, made connections, championed our mission, and celebrated every success as if it were her own. We are profoundly grateful for her friendship, her fierce loyalty, and the lasting impact she made on our organization and the community she loved so deeply. Her legacy lives on in North Beach.
Thank you, Jeanette. You will be deeply missed, fondly remembered, and forever a part of the North Beach Citizens family.
From Facebook www.facebook.com/share/p/18bt42SD4B
Jeanette was one of a kind. She always had a story to tell, an opinion to share, and if you sat down with her, you could count on hearing a little insider information. Beneath her sharp wit, candid observations, and unmistakable personality was an unwavering love for North Beach and the people who made it special. Jeanette's generosity and steadfast support of North Beach Citizens touched countless lives over the years. She understood the humanness of struggle and believed deeply in showing up for others with compassion, dignity, and heart. She opened doors, made connections, championed our mission, and celebrated every success as if it were her own. We are profoundly grateful for her friendship, her fierce loyalty, and the lasting impact she made on our organization and the community she loved so deeply. Her legacy lives on in North Beach.
Thank you, Jeanette. You will be deeply missed, fondly remembered, and forever a part of the North Beach Citizens family.
From Facebook www.facebook.com/share/p/18bt42SD4B
June 19, 2026
This photo of my mother when she was 5 years old, was taken just a few days after the liberation of her internment camp by American paratroopers in August of 1945.
The newly liberated camp inmates put on a play to celebrate, with many of the camp’s children performing as singing angels. The American soldiers donated the white silk parachutes that they had used to jump into the camp to make the gowns for the children. Mom recalled that her mother and her aunt stayed up the entire night cutting and sowing the silk, so that the gowns would be ready for the play. My grandmother had told me once that Jeannette, after almost four years imprisonment, was so severely malnourished at this point that she couldn’t stand very long. But she wanted to be in the play so badly, so they sat her in the front row, dressed in her new hand-made, white silk gown.
Almost 81 years later, she told this story to the nurses while she was being treated at the hospital here in Knoxville. It was the last story I ever heard her tell.
I would love people to share their stories and photos of her here as well.
Thank you for visiting my mother’s remembrance.
The newly liberated camp inmates put on a play to celebrate, with many of the camp’s children performing as singing angels. The American soldiers donated the white silk parachutes that they had used to jump into the camp to make the gowns for the children. Mom recalled that her mother and her aunt stayed up the entire night cutting and sowing the silk, so that the gowns would be ready for the play. My grandmother had told me once that Jeannette, after almost four years imprisonment, was so severely malnourished at this point that she couldn’t stand very long. But she wanted to be in the play so badly, so they sat her in the front row, dressed in her new hand-made, white silk gown.
Almost 81 years later, she told this story to the nurses while she was being treated at the hospital here in Knoxville. It was the last story I ever heard her tell.
I would love people to share their stories and photos of her here as well.
Thank you for visiting my mother’s remembrance.
Family tree
Other family members
Peter Ridet
Nephew
Eric Baliantz
Nephew
Zoey Baliantz
Niece
Genevieve Baliantz
Sister-in-Law
Deborah Etheredge
Daughter-in-Law
Aram Baliantz
Armen Psakian
William "Bill" Etheredge
Arthur "Art" Baliantz
Devin Etheredge
Arthur "Art" Baliantz
William "Bill" Etheredge
Devin Etheredge
Jeannette Etheredge
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