By Lorraine Meier

Founded in 1965 by husband-and-wife duo Tomas “Tommy” and Elmy Bermejo, Tommy’s Mexican Restaurant is a small, family-run establishment in the Richmond District that has been featured several times on the “world’s 50 best bars” list. Last month, the iconic restaurant, which sits on Geary Boulevard at 24th Avenue, celebrated 60 years.

Tommy and Elmy had to borrow money from friends to buy the restaurant. In the beginning, they served barbecue chicken, burgers and steaks. It was the kind of food that Tommy cooked at the Big Horn restaurant in downtown San Francisco where he previously worked.

“They slowly integrated Mexican food (into the menu),” said Elmy W., the oldest of the five Bermejo siblings. “People didn’t know what that was. They just knew tacos. They added burritos and enchiladas, and gradually became the Yucatan restaurant it is today.”

Since Tommy’s passing in March 2011, the rest of the family has stepped up to run the restaurant’s operations.

“My dad ran everything, and now we all just work together,” Elmy W. added. “You do what needs to be done to help your family. Whatever role that is, you do it.”

Elmy, the family matriarch – now close to 90 years old – is still at the restaurant almost every night greeting guests.

She greeted more than 300 guests at the 60th anniversary party, including San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie, who stopped by to offer best wishes, commemorate the occasion with a Certificate of Honor and drink a celebratory toast with Elmy.

District 1 Supervisor Connie Chan presented a proclamation congratulating the Bermejo family on the anniversary and declaring Aug. 24, 2025, “Tommy’s Mexican Restaurant Day” in the City and County of San Francisco.

Hundreds of people at the party, and countless more in the Richmond District, believe Tommy’s has created something very special for San Francisco.

Thomas Jordan lives in the neighborhood and has been coming to Tommy’s for the past 30 years.

“When we come here it’s like we are visiting a friend’s home,” Jordan said. “My family has become friends with the Bermejo family. It’s more than just a restaurant.”

A patron since the 1980s, Leslie Wong lives a few blocks away from Tommy’s.

“There is a good community spirit here,” Wong said. “You feel comfortable and included. It’s just a really nice atmosphere.”

This community spirit has been intentionally crafted by the Bermejo family.

“For the past 60 years, we have tried to not just sell enchiladas and Tommy’s margaritas, but to build a community with our team, guests and with all of our purveyors,” the restaurant expressed in thank you cards to patrons at the anniversary celebration.

Jack Choate works for the company that distributes Lunazul, the tequila Tommy’s uses in its house margaritas. He pointed out the dry-erase board in the bar that welcomes visitors from around the world. The one message that is never erased reads, “Don’t forget how lucky you are to live in San Francisco.”

“Tommy’s is the first place I came to when visiting San Francisco,” Choate said. “It is the last place I would visit before traveling, because who better than Julio can tell me what bars to visit anywhere in the world?”

Julio Bermejo is Tommy and Elmy’s son and the restaurant’s beverage manager. In 2003 the tequila industry named Julio as the Tequila Ambassador of North America. The “Tommy’s Margarita” is now a cocktail that can be ordered worldwide. It is a classic cocktail that is distinguished for its simplicity: 100% pure agave tequila, fresh lime juice and agave nectar.

“Right now, it is possible that the ‘Tommy’s Margarita’ is the most popular cocktail in the world,” Julio said. “I wish the recipe was like a sheet of music, because I’d be retired,”

For Julio, the quality of the ingredients is key.

“When you give someone the privilege of serving something that you are going to put in your body, you want to know what that is,” Julio said. “We pick through boxes of limes all day long and only choose the best ones.”

Julio is famous for his structured tequila education program. The first of three levels is called “master” and begins with a 15-minute tutorial about how tequila is made.

“Tequila needs the most amount of raw material to make the same amount of liquid as other spirits. It takes eight kilos of agave to make a naturally hydrolyzed bottle of 100% agave tequila,” Julio said.

Participants of the course sample 35 different selections with three tastings per visit.

“Ph.D.” is the next level, after which students must pass a written exam to demonstrate their knowledge.

“Easy, it’s not,” says Julio. If a student passes, they are eligible to get on a waitlist to visit Mexico with Julio to tour distilleries and completely immerse themselves in the world of tequila.

Julio said today’s economy has altered the restaurant’s operating hours.

“We are only open 28 hours a week, and everybody here has three jobs because we can’t give everybody the hours they need,” he said. “I found sponsorships to go all over the world to promote our business and try to capture some business again with 60 pop-ups in more than 20 countries.”

Despite the challenges of operating a business, the Bermejo family and their legacy continue on in the Richmond.

The card to patrons on their celebratory evening continued by stating, “It is because of amazing guests like you that Tommy’s has endured all these years. We are eternally grateful for the privilege of serving the Richmond District and beyond.”

Tommy’s Mexican Restaurant is located at 5929 Geary Blvd. at 24th Avenue and is open Saturday and Sunday from 1-8:30 p.m. and on Wednesday to Friday from 5 p.m.-8:30 p.m. The restaurant is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays.