Taking over the Castro Street bar space will be a quartet of new owners headed by business partners Tim Eicher and Rob Giljum, who bought the Russian River bar Rainbow Cattle Company in 2005. Joining them as co-owners will be John Bellemore and Jeff Eubanks, Eicher's boyfriend of eight years.
All near 40 in age, the four plan to reopen the bar in early February. They are keeping the name of the bar secret, for now, until they have completed a legal vetting process.
The Bar on Castro space is the second to change hands within the heart of the Castro. As the Bay Area Reporter's business column disclosed last month, Kevin Harrington bought the Men's Room on 18th Street from longtime owner Lita Byrd and is changing its name to Last Call.
Along Market Street, work continues on the expansion of the former Jet bar space. Bronstein is combining a former artist gallery and sometime campaign headquarters for local politicians with the bar space and remodeling the entire site into a new dance club. He is aiming for a mid February opening and is working on a new name for the location at 2348 Market Street.
Further down the city's main thoroughfare the sign for the Metro, which had relocated into the old Expansion bar at 2124 Market Street, has come down now that the owner of the 18th Street bar Moby Dick has taken over the business. Doug Murphy, who did not return a call seeking comment, and Shawn Vergara acquired the lease late last year and are set to unveil a new name and new look for the bar.
As for the fate of Toad Hall, the newly renovated but still closed bar at 4146 18th Street, it is still up in the air. Long home to the Pendulum, bar owner Les Natali shuttered the space in August 2005 and paid for a total refurbishment. But plans for a December 2007 opening came and went, and hopes to tie-in a grand opening with the release last November of the Milk movie, in which the old Toad Hall of the 1970s is featured, also fizzled.
Last month Natali told the B.A.R. he had teamed up with Larry Metzger, owner of the Mix bar on 18th Street, to help him ready the spot for business. But he declined to posit just when Toad Hall would welcome its first customers.
New bar on Church
The intersection of Church and Market streets is shaping up to be a new center for late night entertainment in the Castro District. Long home to bars Amber on 14th Street and gay hangout the Pilsner on Church, the Metro added another gay barhopping destination there when it took over the Expansion space in the summer of 2007.
Over the last two years party promoters had turned the Transfer's corner bar space into a popular alternative gay scene and indy hangout, while upscale restaurant Mecca on Market Street recently started a new monthly Saturday night party aimed at gay men called Swank.
Prior to the area's emergence as a new hotspot, Bronstein had in fact tried to offload the Church Street bar space, but the sale fell through. Last summer he began ending his agreements with the promoters at the Transfer, and by December, he had shuttered the space in order to totally revamp the interior.
The move will mark the end of Bronstein's business holdings in the heart of the Castro. He first acquired the Bar at 456 Castro Street a decade ago, and at one time, he owned seven businesses in the neighborhood.
Now he is down to three, all located on the upper Market Street corridor. In addition to the Jet bar expansion, Bronstein owns Lime, which he is also revamping with a new interior look, head chef, menu, and entertainment offerings.
As he migrates further away from Castro Street, he is confident his regular clientele will follow him.
"We will be able to recreate and improve what we have been offering. I think our clientele will enjoy it as much as people have enjoyed the Bar on Castro," he said. "As Doug redoes his bar, we will both provide new options. The Bar on Church will bring revitalization to that corner. It will mean more options for people to bar hop on that corner."
When the Bar on Church opens later this month �" the same day as President-elect Barack Obama's inauguration �" Bronstein promises a "striking interior design" by Craige Walters with a mirror ball-inspired back bar, centralized dance floor with intelligent lighting, special effects, state of the art sound system, and a "sexy game room."
Along with relocating the Bar on Castro's current weekly events such as Juanita More's Wednesday Booty Call parties and Manic Mondays, with its 1980s music and cheap drinks, to the at the Bar on Church, Bronstein will launch a ladies night on Tuesdays called Twomanizer, where women drink for half price.
With several new mixed-use residential projects slated for upper Market Street, including three just blocks away from the Bar on Church, Bronstein believes the bar is positioned to be at the heart of a new "gateway to the Castro."
"I am very excited about the Market Street developments," said Bronstein. "I believe most of our clientele will migrate down there."
Castro Street bar plans
Ever since they bought their bar in Guerneville, Eicher and Giljum set their sites on opening a place on Castro Street.
"We've been looking into stuff in the Castro for years. One reason is just that there is something special about the Castro, the history of the neighborhood, the community and just being a part of it," said Eicher, who has lived in San Francisco since 1989.
Eicher and his cohorts signed a 20-year lease for the bar space in November. He said they plan to make some cosmetic changes to the interior �" the red color scheme will likely be replaced - but have no intentions to completely overhaul the space.
"We really want to refresh the space," he said. "We are going to open as quickly as we can."
He said the group is aiming to attract a mixed clientele, similar to the patrons who currently hang out at the bar.
"What we want is to have what we like about the bar as it is. It is a very diverse crowd, with a good mix of men and women," said Eicher. "That is exactly what we would want to continue, to have a place that everyone in the community can walk in to and feel it is a good space for them."
Beginning in February the owners plan to meet with community groups to introduce themselves and will be before the Entertainment Commission to secure the needed permits to have a DJ, dancing and entertainment. Eicher said the new owners wanted to wait until Bronstein had finalized his plans before going public with their own.
"We were trying to be quiet about it until he was ready," said Eicher. "We are thrilled and can't wait for February 1. We are ready to go."
As for opening up a new business during an economic downturn, Eicher said he and his partners are confident they will be able to succeed.
"Sure, with any business you are starting right now, you are going to be concerned. At the same time, I think the Castro is such a unique destination, that we think we will do okay," he said. "It may not be great the first year or two, but we are looking at it in the long term."
Bronstein also sounded confident on being able to survive and keep his three businesses afloat until the economy straightens out. He noted he purposefully is timing the Bar on Church's opening with the installation of Obama as president to tap into the euphoria and hope for better times Obama's election has wrought.
"In a downturn with the economy, people still want to have a good time. People will still spend money if you offer them a good time and a good entertainment experience," said Bronstein. "Everyone is looking for the Obama administration for a turnaround."
Eicher said the more options people have in the Castro should benefit all bar owners in the area.
"Our attitude is very much we want the Castro to be a vibrant business area with a lot of different places. The more variety that there is, the more people it draws out for the betterment of everybody," he said. "Toad Hall looks phenomenal; we are excited to see the Jet bar expansion open. When we got out in the Castro, we are excited to see the variety."