SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) -- Florida head coach Todd Golden is excited to be back in San Francisco this week -- a city where he began his head coaching career. Golden leads the No. 1 seed Gators for their Sweet 16 matchup Thursday against No. 4 seed Maryland. But before the battle on the court, Golden -- the head coach at the University of San Francisco from 2019-22 -- wanted to show his team some of his favorite places in the area. One of those places was the famed San Francisco restaurant Original Joe's. It is one of the hardest reservations to get in the city, even for a multi-millionaire basketball coach like Golden. Golden reached out to the North Beach location shortly after Florida's win over UConn Sunday, but efforts to secure a table were unsuccessful. It's hard enough to get a reservation for two -- let alone space to accommodate 38 people comprised of players, coaches and staff. In addition, there were already three private events that fully booked Original Joe's. Fortunately for Golden, 39, the Italian-American eatery was able to make way to host the Gators team Tuesday night, thanks to the coach's history with Original Joe's owner John Duggan. Original Joe's even shut down its open seating bar and lounge area to accommodate such a large party. It's something the restaurant hasn't done in more than a decade. Late boxing legend George Foreman had deep ties to this East Bay city (Photo: Original Joe's San Francisco)(Photo: Original Joe's San Francisco) San Francisco State University cutting men’s soccer and 2 other sports "This is something we’ve only done once in the 13 years we’ve been open at this location," an Original Joe's spokesperson said in an email to KRON4. "We really wanted to make this happen for Todd and his team, so this was a special exception." "To cap it off with (Original Joe's) last night. The (staff) did an incredible job hosting us. It was just a remarkable experience," Golden said in a news conference Wednesday at Chase Center where the tournament games will be held. "Our guys really enjoyed it; it's an experience a lot of these guys haven't had -- being able able to come all the way West and be in a great city like San Francisco." "Just landing in San Francisco and driving back through the city, I had to pinch myself a little bit. It was a full-circle moment," he said. It wasn't just the popular restaurant that Golden went to with his team. The coach took his team to Crissy Field to check out world-renowned views of the Golden Gate Bridge. Golden ordered the prime rib from Original Joe's. "You know, being here in San Francisco, you can't go wrong (with that), he said. Golden is 72-33 in his three seasons as head coach at Florida. The Gators tip off against Maryland at 4:39 p.m. on Thursday. The Associated Press contributed to this report. ...read more read less