Jerry Garcia’s grandmother had a parrot named Loretta!

Well, who da thunk! Here’s the back story provided by Ali El Safy, who owns the new bar Loretta in downtown Menlo Park as recounted by Jerry Garcia in the book Harrington Street.

“The parrot and the parrot routine virtually define “parrotness” in my life. The parrot’s name was Loretta.

“The story was this: Immediately after the big San Francisco earthquake with the City burning and the dust settling, my Grandmother Tillie, a little girl at the time, found a parrot walking down the street(!)

“When my grandmother found her, she could say ‘pretty lorrretta.’ She never learned anything else speech wise — at least no more English phrases.”

Note: The bar Loretta is in the location of Magoo’s Pizza Parlor where The Warlocks (who became the Grateful Dead) played, led by Jerry Garcia.