Molly, as the owner in a position of authority over an employee (welcome to equality!) exposed her (??) business to liability....however someone is getting off Scott free on this board.

come up with for Molly then you might be better off not commenting. So many things wrong with what went on, where to start? What about the wife and kids? I do agree, however, that someone seems to be getting off Scott free.

how long till she figures out you dont sleep with married men?! :) oh, lets give the girl a break.... she is young and if she is indeed spoiled she is probably used to just getting whatever she wants, no matter the cost to others. maybe one day it will be her on the other side of things and she will think "oh, that's why it isnt cool". not every family has those values.

I'm related to Molly. Get a clue Santa Rosa. She does not want to deal with the hypocrisy of the city. The city says they want businesses but them they impose ridiculous restrictions. For one, the city and the police department put bar owners in an untenable position with gang members. The city threatens the bar owners to fine them if they permit "gang members" into their bars. The bar owners ask the city for a list of "gang members" so they can screen them at the door and prevent them from coming in. The city and the police say "we can't give you that list but you need to prevent gang members from coming in!". The city also penalizes bar owners for having to call the police. They get around this by personally befriending an officer and getting their personal cell #. If they were to call it an "official call" the bar owner is penalized. As a relative of Molly, I too own a business but not in California. It took Molly 3 years to figure out that running a business in California is not worth the hassle.

i agree with emily.... im 22 and work in a restaurant. i see plenty of sleazy men making passes at us all the time but we just think of them as gross and wonder who would ever WANT to be with a person of those values... married or not!
nothing here is untrue. so why is it considered "an attack"? neither of them deney it, neither of them in any way were taking any lengths to hide the affair... (going in and seeing it in person right at the bar? how class - less is that!)and so why is that girl so hot to defend her friend that sleeps with married men AND because of it caused her unemployement for the whole establishment, not just herself?

and maybe not....either way....how would you like it if you were home with one and another in the oven and your husband's boss was going down on him? What about the wife and kids?

a lot more employees than Upper. I have never slept with or sexually harassed one of my employees. I can tell you that if I called my lawyer and told her I slept with one of them and asked him what the consequences would be if I fired her/him because word had gotten out, that she would tell me that I'd face/lose a lawsuit. She'd probably tell me it would be better to just shut the whole place down. What about the wife and kids?

im suprised that you would defend your old boss and say that you were all such a family when her choices cost everyone who worked there their jobs. it sounds like you arent too worried about it, but i know some of the others really counted on that nightly income without some savings in their back pocket. you act as though it is just those two peoples buisness....sorry but when the "boss" makes choices that costs everyone their jobs, then its offensive to just say..."oh, mind your own buisness... get a life". someone that is spoiled cant grasp the reality that people counted on that job, it really doesnt have much to do with being jealous.
as a woman myself, i would hope that you would have enough respect for yourself, and the other woman (wheather you know her or not) to sleep with her husband. one day you may understand what it means to stand up for women you dont even know, instead of supporting a "friend/ ex-boss" who justifies her choices.

Woof Woof. Why is this something that concerns you so much that you feel the need to make personal attacks? I choose to make my identity known and say how i feel because it is important to me that all of these rude remarks towards my friend/ old employer and the establishment i worked at are known as, yes your opinion, but just your opinion. How dare you try to say things about our notice.... do you know how long our notice was? nope... because it was NOT a day... and its really nothing for you to be talking about or worrying about. And again the personal issues are not for you to talk about as well. this is a place for people to talk about establishments and can we keep it that way. comment away on how you feel about the service the cocktails and the small plates. But personal attacks on other peoples lives. Why do you go get your own life to talk about. I'm sure that you would be so excited for your lives to be public and whatever you have done to be something that everyone wants to have something to say about. please do us all a favor and get over yourself.

You are of character... more than words can express. I feel so sorry for you.

I don't think bosses who have affairs with their married employees and then shut down the business and put people out of work on one days notice are people of character.

One's lost is one's gain.
Jack & Tony's in Railroad square is a great bar for the 30+ and 40+. Great selection of wines, drinks and whisky.
they are open late on Friday and Saturdays.
check it out!

I'm pretty sure Molly isn't the one who needs to stop playing with her Ken doll and grow up... I'm sure there are more people on here that should grow up and stop worrying about what other people do. The wife and kids???? It takes two to tango. It's a two way street, not one... it's sad about the wife and kids, yes, but who's fault is that? Not Molly's.

Umm I cant help but feel you are all putting too much blame of the broken family onto molly.. It takes two by the way.. and the husband did the betraying.. He was the one that was committed to someone else.. He was the one with two babies. And he was the one who left his wife.. or was the wife just plain awful and had no chance of keeping him anyway..?

Hello All!! Thank you to all of you who have said nice things we will miss you too! My name is Jacinta and i worked at Upper for 2 years for Molly. I loved every day of it! She is an amazing person to work for and a awesome friend. For all of you people who want to say mean things. Is it really your place to say that and do you have anything to back up what you are saying? I am an employee. I loved her. I loved my job. I loved the people i worked with. We were a family and we ran an awesome bar. As for all of you who want to talk about others personal life..... really? Shes a spoiled rich girl..... your jealous. And about the other issues.... if you have a problem talk to her or the other party involved. Making comments on a public website.... really? do you feel better now? Because all of you little nabs, rude remarks, and comments.... are about our lives. our work. our family. what we put our hearts into every day. we loved our customers. we loved what we did. And say we will not be missed.... we will. It was a awesome time in my life. I thank Molly for giving me the chance to experience that. My time at upper will always be remembered for me as a amazing time where i had not only co-workers but a family. Again thank you to our loyal customers we love you. We had a awesome run.

You can see where my mind was....

I am extremely sad to see Upper Fourth close. I can only hope someone else will buy it and continue to offer a comfortable, classy place for adults to gather, have a drink and just be.

As I wrote in this blog post, I will always be eternally grateful and appreciative of Upper Fourth. And Molly.
http://www.nancyoutloud.com/2009/09/bad-news-today-upper-fourth-is-closed

I wish the Upper Fourth staff and Molly the very best.

Did she go to a re-tirement home or to a re-hab?

It's Palm DESERT..not DESSERT

Excellent point by Kate. I would guess Daddy told Molly to shut down her play house, not to play with her Ken doll anymore, and then sent her to her room. (Uppper 4th is closed, stay away from married men with children and pregnant wives at home, and board that plane for SoCal.)

I never went there but after reading all of this I feel I really missed out on some good people watching and an over priced drink.

sorry we are all so boring and silly (with the exception of yourself i imagine?)... HOWEVER... i was under the impression that the article was on upper fourth and why daddy, i mean, molly, was choosing to close... and not if the employee of the affair was responsible for his own actions.
moving on..... it was a trashy place regardless so i dont think its too much of a loss.... except for maybe the employees and family hurt.

I HATE to point out the obvious, and really, I think you are all silly and boring. BUT, you know the poor married man - the one with the pregnant wife and child at home?

DO YOU SUPPOSE he might have anything to do with it? He chose to sleep with her as well. I am so sorry that escaped all of you.
I highly doubt she forced him.

Seriously now. Move on.

Little Miss Molly needs to grow up and realize that she's not playing with her Ken doll anymore.

looks like little molly finds a way to screw her staff one way or the other. If it's not letting them go with a two day notice, then it's sleeping with the married bartender with a child and pregnant wife at home. She should be held accountable, if she doesn't want people in her business then she shouldn't be acting like that. Thank god mommy and daddy are always there to save the day and buy her yet another job!

here's the thing though.... when you say "get a life" , you forget that to alot of us, it affects our lives, on a professional level for alot of us, and also the personal lifes of the real people hurt in all this. i get that some of you are defending little miss molly, but even as a loyal patron or a friend you must realize that just because the truth is being spread like wildfire and her not so sqeaky image is being further tarished (if that's even possible) does not make it a rumor. its jouralism.... lets just call a spade a spade.

Most of you are so quick to judge.. What makes you think your opinion matters anyway? And bashing other people on the internet? Who are you to do that? NO ONE OBVIOUSLY! It's the internet...and you think just by saying a few bad things that's going to make you feel not so less of yourself? Get a life and worry about that instead of bashing other people and what they are doing with theirs. No one cares about any of your rude remarks. Open your own night club and see what any one will have to say about it. Put yourself in someone elses shoes for once, or maybe you are too arrogant to even consider it... and posting things about people's personal lives??? hahaha!!!!..... GET A LIFE!!! it's none of your business, so i really dont know why you think your opinion or statements matter.. take that stuff elsewhere!

Whatever the reason for Upper Fourth closing is the owner's business and not any of yours so GROW UP and GET A LIFE!!!!!!!

I've been a customer for years and I have no complaints. Wait staff, owners, bartenders, security... THEY WERE ALL GOOD TO ME!!!

Most of you are so quick to judge.. What makes you think your opinion matters anyway? And bashing other people on the internet? Who are you to do that? NO ONE OBVIOUSLY! It's the internet...and you think just by saying a few bad things that's going to make you feel not so less of yourself? Get a life and worry about that instead of bashing other people and what they are doing with theirs. No one cares about any of your rude remarks. Open your own night club and see what any one will have to say about it. Put yourself in someone elses shoes for once, or maybe you are too arrogant to even consider it... and posting things about people's personal lives??? hahaha!!!!..... GET A LIFE!!! it's none of your business, so i really dont know why you think your opinion or statements matter.. take that stuff elsewhere!

Whatever the reason for Upper Fourth closing is the owner's business and not any of yours so GROW UP and GET A LIFE!!!!!!!

I've been a customer for years and I have no complaints. Wait staff, owners, bartenders, security... THEY WERE ALL GOOD TO ME!!!

Maybe Jeff Bodean will buy it and make it the OFFICIAL "fake Chris Angel hangout"

This place went south (just like the owner) real fast! Yeah, the DB's will just find another bar to try to bring down but that's the nature of the business, when a bar is run that way. Owner's getting greedy & snooty (and not necessaraly in that order) are what causes the majority of the clientele change and then the DB crowd just follows suit. Too bad no one is willing to run a bar the old fashioned way, good drinks for a fair price, different music and specials on different nights, FIRM BUT FAIR security, and not willing to buckle and eventually accept the druggie & hip hop scenes! Good bye & good riddance.

Its really nobody's business as to what is going on here. PERIOD.

Oh please... if she HADN'T talked to a reporter everyone would be discussing what she was hiding and if she wasn't hiding anything then why not just talk about it!? It's how the press and all the immature shallow small minded idiots are. Damned if you do - damned if you don't.

If Molly doesn't want it discussed in the paper then for starters she shouldn't talk to the reporter.

Mostly I think people need to mind their own business about whatever may or may not have been going on behind the scenes at Upper. Personal attacks on someone you've probably never met make you look petty and very immature. We all make choices and mistakes in our lives. Be glad you don’t have people like yourselves spreading crap about YOUR choices. Have any of YOU run a bar before? Do you have any idea in actuality the how, what, and why? And you're right - 7 closed... and all the dirt bags headed to Upper. NOT Molly's fault. (I promise, they're headed to another bar this weekend.) ANY of you who had an opportunity fall in your lap would jump on it... The point is you DONT know. As much as you want to call Molly a spoiled little rich girl I say you're immature shallow small minded idiots.

Upper 4th and their Winter Drops (my fave Upper drink) will be missed. I wish Molly and the entire crew the best.

Im not surprised
Sexo Na Praia

god who cares yeah its her toy. she hired em and she fired em. grow up, nobody cares about your pet project. get a dartboard or something.

Ann..if the article was about food/drink you might have a point, but when Little Miss Molly makes the decision to speak to a reporter and give her version (by the way, i still have that bridge for sale if you want it) of events then that opens the door for others to give their version of events. And Heather "reported" on the abrupt closure of a business, not their new drink menu. Have you thought about the fact that with virtually no notice numerous people lost their jobs? People who have car payments, rent due, and food to buy for their kids? And those people don't have a job waiting for them on a moments notice at a retirement community in SoCal. And the "The End" sign on the door says it all. To Molly this was a toy to play with. For others it was how they paid the bills. What about the wife and kids?

Some of the previous posters have quite clearly answered the question posed in Heather's article - that is, what caused Upper Fourth to close so suddenly? And I am sure they have more truth than the Gallaher family's spin. Therefore, it seems perfectly appropriate to include those responses - stop censoring, Heather.

This is a food blog. Commenting on the closing of an establishment is appropriate. However, the personal life of the owner is of absolutely no interest to me.

I only ever frequented this place rarely, Bars/Clubs are not my thing. But I have to say it was definetly a step above the other local club/bar types in Downtown, the staff was profesional, the owner always onsite and friendly, and the space was large enough to avoid the fools that were let in. Oh well, sad to see any place close these days.

I agree, I suspect that little Molly has called her daddy and asked Heather from the Press Democrat to remove the negitive comments, Keep in mind as negitive they are thier true. So much for free speach ha Heather. If you dont want negitive feedback maybe you shouldent leave us the option to share our thoughts. I mean isnt that what its for? Ohh and one last thing which Molly has kindly left out but since your so close to her maybe you can answer for her, What about all the employee's? Did they get ANY severernce pay? or notice? or did she just get wisked away to turn her back on the employee's who worked so hard for her. The entire situation is sad, but i think it IS important for people to have the ability to publicly voice thier opinions. The FACT is she did have an affair with her employee who is married with 2 kids and its NOT ok. Maybe they'll both think twice in the future when they can hear how the public feels about them. Heather, Are you going to erase this post too? I think we should all write a letter to the editor asking them why and what constitutes deleting posts? Id like to know.

or named and false or misleading or incomplete? (Right under Leave a comment it says, and I quote:"Sign in to comment, or comment anonymously.") If the PD does not want anonymous posts it shouldn't allow them or say that you can "...comment anonymously." So quit criticizing something allowed/encouraged by the PD. And by the way, how do we know you are who you say you are? What about the wife and kids?

more accurate information than the self-serving owners that Heather quotes. This "story" would be a perfect example.

Yeah Heather, why don't you give anonymous internet trolls the same respect as people with real names who speak on the record??what kind of journalalamist is you?

If you are going to allow the owner of an establishment to tell you their version of why their business closed, then why can't others tell you their version of why it closed? If a business owner really wants to stay out of the fray then they should speak off the record or on background. To speak to you on the record knowing that you will quote/paraphrase them in the local public paper then their version of events is fair game if others have a different version that they legitimately believe to be the truth. And by the way, please tell me you know that in order for libel to be committed one of the requirements is that the author has to knowingly print false information. I have not seen any post that fits that description, so stop with the fear tactics.

I liked the place in the earlier years. I think in general the whole Santa Rosa scene has been on the decline for awhile. Upper 4th couldn't have closed because of financial distress, sounds like there was a greener pasture somewhere else. I used to feel I could have somewhat of a classy good time downtime, but overall the whole downtown area has been taken over by hooligans and any of the bars and restaurants aren't worth going to on Friday or Saturday night after 9 PM anymore, it's turned into downtown Petaluma with all the crime that happens every weekend. I'm in my mid twenties love the area,will never leave and I feel surrounded by classless peers, luckily Sonoma County finds a way to weed these people out of the area after awhile.

I liked the place in the earlier years. I think in general the whole Santa Rosa scene has been on the decline for awhile. Upper 4th couldn't have closed because of financial distress, sounds like there was a greener pasture somewhere else. I used to feel I could have somewhat of a classy good time downtime, but overall the whole downtown area has been taken over by hooligans and any of the bars and restaurants aren't worth going to on Friday or Saturday night after 9 PM anymore, it's turned into downtown Petaluma with all the crime that happens every weekend. I'm in my mid twenties love the area,will never leave and I feel surrounded by classless peers, luckily Sonoma County finds a way to weed these people out of the area after awhile.

There is clearly a lot of frustration around this closure. I, like many of you, have heard some of the alleged personal information relating to the closure.

There are many many many places where it is perfectly fine to anonymously vent about people's personal choices. Slander and libel are serious issues, and I try to be vigilant about deleting comments that defame people's character -- especially when they are made anonymously.

Please respect that.

Heather, I love reading BiteClub, especially for all the insider info. I love knowing who's opening or closing and what I have to look forward to (or what to lament the loss of) in Sonoma County's food and drinks scene. That being said, I am really disturbed by the tone of the comments regarding the closure of Upper Fourth. Regardless of whatever was going on behind the scenes, it seems like people are letting loose a level of public wrath that is not becoming. I hardly think this is the appropriate venue to rant and rave about whatever happened. It just seems really snarky, hateful and judgmental. I thought this was a foodie blog, not a character assignation blog.

I do really miss BarCode, and I never thought that Upper Fourth made up for the loss of BarCode. And there did seem to be an exceptional amount of D-Bags hanging out at UF. Hopefully something cool will fill UF's vacancy.

..but guys, where else can we pack into a small room and order 9.25 vodka crans while simultaneously watching the ratio of 15:1 women slowly climb to 25:1?

I heard the arrogant little french guy was going to buy if from Rendevous. ohh brother... i hope he can run a club better then a restaurant.

If my parents gave me money to open up a business I would jump at it. The place had a great concept and the design was nice.
I agree that any business closing is bad no matter what personal issues were going on.
I liked the place, in the begining it was a nice place to hang out with friends and not feel like I was in a meat market. For the last year or so it's gotten pretty bad in regards to the "D Bags", but every city, bar, and restaurant has there share. I think when 7, now the Vine, closed and the Cantina wasn't open quite yet is when things changed.

I did like this place. Yeah, it was high end and yeah, it attracted it's fair share of dipwads, but any of these "clubby" bars is going to do that. Not as if you can put a sign on the door that says "No D-bags Allowed." However, as much as I liked the place, it never moved past a "special occasion" place for me simply because of the prices. Perhaps that's why it closed? Then again- it always seemed steadily busy. Leaving owning your own cool bar to work at a retirement home- what am I missing? BTW- to all of you saying "about time!" and "good riddance!" - when are you going to realize that ANY local business closing, whether you liked it or not, is a bad thing?

too bad... most people say it won't be missed. I guess it needed to go. Anyone out there liked this place?

I largely agree with the unnamed posting of "September 21, 2009 11:18 PM" above. The location is great, the place itself really very nice inside, and I ove the big windows looking out over the square. It was also nice at first, apparently living up to its supposed goal of being a quiet, classy place to relax with a cocktail for mature people who want to enjoy each others' company, rather than roudy, immature partiers in a meat market, which it gradually became. I went a number of times at first, enjoying the setting and location. However, I stopped going in part because the less mature crowd (and I don't necessarily mean younger, since many of these crass, ill-mannered louts, often throwing too much money around, were at least as old as I) and loud music, etc., took over. The quality of the drinks, good at first if displaying a somewhat novice hand, also declined and it all became steadily more sloppy. it's too bad and hopefully a place will take over and actually be a quiet, classy, serious, and relaxing cocktail lounge.

ABOUT TIME is all I have to say... Upper 4th will not be missed.

I hope what ever goes in there now really will be what they originally promised. Catering to the 30-60 crowd. A place to meet for a nice cocktail and chat over quiet music. Not a pace to wait in a pretend line and pay cover to yell over awful loud music.

Not surprised! I said they would never make it the first time I visited. Lousy service and an owner who had no idea how to run a bar/lounge. Obviously the parents were paying for her job.

Agreed. Good riddance. I've never outright been treated so terribly, ignored because I wasn't a female in a short dress, and charged a cover for someone playing songs off their iPod. What a joke. The owner did act like a spoiled rich girl, because that's what she was/is. A truly classy cocktail bar with someone running it who understands sincere customer service will be successful.

It will not be missed, however I am worried about the number of businesses going under right now. Someone can make a swanky fun night club work, but the covers and fake lines were a JOKE.

Wow, that is surprising, they were always very busy when we went. I liked the place and was actually thinking about hosting a poker game in one of their private rooms sometime soon. Westender, you have to be kidding, Bar Code was horrible! Stir is much, much better.

Not surprised... spotty customer service (once waited 20 min. only to be told they were no longer serving, at around 10:00 p.m.) and the "owner" was using the bar as her playground, ruining a marriage/family and otherwise behaving like a spoiled rich girl. Not the kind of behaviour parents want to see, so they pulled the plug. Karma.

That place was in dire need of a dance floor. I won't miss it.