Tenderloin Tessie Holiday Dinners, 1187 Franklin Street, San Francisco, CA (2026)

Tessie was the drag name of Perry Spink, a local performer/bartender who was very familiar with the people and character of the Tenderloin District in San Francisco during the 60’s and 70’s. Legend has it that on Thanksgiving in 1974, he received several turkeys and was inspired to cook and serve them to the local Tenderloin residents (with the help of less-than-sober bar buddies). It was a gestur

e that showed the San Francisco Community that no matter who you were; there was someone who cared. It was a Godsend for the little blue haired women of the neighborhood who were trying to live off meager social security checks. These dinners, served on the last Thursdays of the month, garnered Tessie many honors and she earned the title of Empress 15 in 1980. Along with the dinners, Tessie started the tradition of giving gift bags along with the meals, a tradition that lives on today. These bags contain donated items such as toiletries, socks, gloves and an assortment of non-perishable food. Sadly, Tessie died in 1984 but the meals continued on an uneven basis. Three years later, the name Tenderloin Tessie Holiday Dinners was created and the meals became a holiday tradition on Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas. They were served at a church on the corner of Eddy and Gough and began focusing on the needs of those suffering form AID’s and the growing number of homeless throughout the city. The meals were a very satisfying way to help the community, but were becoming very large and were a great deal of work and stress for the few volunteers who loosely made up the board at the time. The program suffered a severe blow when the church burned to the ground in 1995. With the board in limbo and no place to stage the meals, many members felt it was time to move on. A new board came together and the meals were moved to the present location, the First Unitarian Universalist church on Franklin and Geary. Since that time, the organization has become a non-profit and is stronger than ever and always mindful of the original mission of Tenderloin Tessie to help anyone in need. Everyone is welcome at our meals!

12/09/2025

Tenderloin Tessie Volunteers! Thank you so much for the immeasurably valuable work you have done for our community. As an organization, we want to let you know that your dedication is essential to the work that we do. You
help us ensure that we are meeting our mission. You bring consistency, positive energy and a beautiful
intensity to this endeavor and we can't THANK YOU enough!

06/17/2025

12/01/2024

Beloved Sister Roma's Album captures so much of the Spirit of Tenderloin Tessie Holiday Dinners! We are so grateful to keep this essential tradition alive. 🥧 We fed 560 guests at our main UUSF site, and 200 at the Shelter. 🧡 Folks were coming in the door all the way up till 4pm. We simply couldn't have done it without our Volunteers. A hearty THANKS to ALL who made another year possible...our 50th!!! We'll see you again at Christmas...

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11/29/2024

It was SO wonderful to see and serve ALL our guests yesterday at our Thanksgiving Dinner. 🥧 A 50-YEAR tradition still going strong! Want to help keep this alive? GET YOUR TICKETS at bit.ly/3ZnHeHE for our festive Holiday Cabaret Extravaganza, IN JUST ONE WEEK!

🎵 A Blazing Array of Drag Artists, Singers, Dancers, Cloggers, Puppeteers & Flaggers! 🎤 Co-hosted by Michael J Gagne, TTHD President & Dusty Pörn, SF DIVA! FEATURING: Sister Roma, Yanira Tongo Lele (Rafael), Evyn Febuary, Rayson Roldan, James Campbell, , , , Jota Mercury, & MORE!

🦃 We are grateful to help sustain, and carry on this essential tradition, helping provide holiday meals to SO many in San Francisco!

🎄 If you want to learn more about Tessie’s history and work, read here, on our newly updated website: https://www.tenderlointessie.com/

At First Unitarian Universalist Society of San Francisco, Starr King Room!

Get ready for a festive night of Singing, Ballet, Puppeteering, Flagging, Clogging, & Storytelling for Tenderloin Tessie's 50th Anniversary!

11/22/2024

JUST 2 WEEKS AWAY! 🎁 Get your tickets to our 50th Anniversary HOLIDAY CABARET EXTRAVAGANZA ’24!, Fri. Dec. 6th! https://www.eventbrite.com/e/holiday-cabaret-extravaganza-24-tickets-1002565539517 🎵 DON'T MISS our talented lineup of Drag Queens & Kings, Vocalists, Dancers, Cloggers, Puppeteers & Flaggers! 🎤 Co-hosted by Michael J Gagne, TTHD President & Dusty Pörn, SF DIVA!

🥧 We are grateful to help sustain, and carry on this essential tradition, helping provide holiday meals to SO many in San Francisco! 🎄 We look forward to celebrating with and entertaining you in December.

If you want to learn more about Tessie’s history and work, read here, on our newly updated website: https://www.tenderlointessie.com/

11/10/2024

LESS THAN A MONTH AWAY! 🎁 Secure your tickets NOW to our 50th Anniversary “Holiday Cabaret Extravaganza”! https://www.eventbrite.com/e/holiday-cabaret-extravaganza-24-tickets-1002565539517 🎵 You’re not going to want to miss this array of SF Bay Area talent: Singers, Dancers, Puppeteers, Flaggers, Cloggers, Drag Queens & Kings! 🎤 Co-hosted by Michael J Gagne, President & Dusty Pörn, SF DIVA!

🥧 We are grateful to help sustain, and carry on this essential tradition, helping provide holiday meals to SO many in San Francisco! 🎄 We look forward to celebrating with and entertaining you in December.

If you want to learn more about Tessie’s history and work, read here, on our newly updated website: https://www.tenderlointessie.com/

Address

1187 Franklin Street
San Francisco, CA
94109

Telephone

+14155843252

Website

http://tenderlointessie.com/

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