the club that had given breaks to barbara strisand as well as a new hip comedians led by mert sal andny bruce. at that time, banducci blamed the high cost of doing business. >> it's not very feasible to sit there with a $500 a week act and trying to discover it and still have expenses of $8,000 a day to keep the doors open. you can go broke very quickly. >> reporter: ever since the turn of the century when italian immigrants picked it as their neighborhood because it was the sunniest part of town. they named their boats after their wives or girlfriends or their hometowns. in the early decade of the century, north beach became known as little italy. >> a popular spot among italians is bochy. a rolling game imported from the old country. >> reporter: a new population invaded north beach. they were writers, poets, artists, impoverished and proud of it. thaerp called the beat generation or beat necks. you can still find a few beats around the area. odenten myers, remembers the excitement of being young and creative in north beach. >> someone that immediately helped you find your place. wh