A rich cultural heritage with a love of dance, music, food, and pilota.

Before building what we now know as the Basque Cultural Center, Basque people would meet on Sunday mornings at the Helen Wills Playground in North Beach to play pilota (Basque handball) on the back wall of a bowling alley.

When the owner of the building decided to sell the property in late 1978, and hte Basque community learned it would be demolished, a long search began to build a fronton (a handball court).

Donating and loaning money towards this effort, Basques banded togetherto build today’s Basque Cultural Center, and it included a handball court and member’s hall. However, in order to offset the increasing costs of this venture, the “member’s lounge” turned into a restaurant.

Today, we call that restaurant “Zazpi.”