 In the early years of Stoumen's ownership, the Black Cat was a center for the bohemian and Beat crowd.William Saroyan and John Steinbeck were known to frequent the establishment, and part of Jack Kerouac's seminal Beat novel "On the Road" is set in the bar.While the Beats continued to congregate at the Black Cat into the 1950s, in the years following World War II, more and more gay people began patronizing it.