Good news for nightlife fans. Oasis, the popular SoMa nightclub, announced plans to re-open its rooftop bar on Friday, August 14, with proper social distancing rules in effect.
D'Arcy Drollinger is also now the sole owner of the nightclub.
Said owner D'Arcy Drollinger in the bar's newsletter, "We're opening our roof top for safe, social distant cocktails and food beginning Friday August 14! We miss our community and want to invite you all back 'home' to your Oasis."
New operating hours are Fridays 4pm - 9pm, Saturdays 4pm - 9pm and Sundays 2pm - 7pm at 298 11th St.
Seating will be first-come first-served. There will also be two drag performances, at 5:30pm and at 7pm.
In a previous article, 'Queer SoMa challenged by COVID,' Assistant News Editor John Ferrannini wrote, "The shutdown orders and other restrictions imposed due to the COVID-19 pandemic are presenting new challenges to a neighborhood that was already experiencing a decline in the number of queer spaces."
And in an August 18 newsletter, Drollinger announced, "As of July 20th I am the proud Owner of Oasis. In the Fall of 2019, my two business partners decided they no longer wanted to be club owners and my initial reaction was to follow suit. I knew it would be a lot of work, but after sleeping on it, I realized how important Oasis was to me on so many levels."
Drollinger continued:
"Little did I know, I would be buying out my partners and taking over the business during a global pandemic. I won't lie, some days I feel absolutely overwhelmed and that I made a crazy decision, but those feelings of fear are quickly erased by the outpouring of support from the community.
"Like any good drag queen or king knows, if your zipper breaks right before your entrance or the DJ loses your music, you have a choice: give up and not go on, or get scrappy, find some duct tape, or a song you don't really know all the words to, and go out there and sell that number! That's exactly how I see this time in our collective "herstory."
Will Oasis provide a renewed spark of fun in queer nightlife? We shall see. the reopening of rooftop entertainment has proven popular.
"A silver lining in all of this is to have an opportunity to essentially stop and recalibrate," wrote Drollinger. "To look towards reopening with the intentions of inclusivity, integrity and safety as a framework to make Oasis truly that. Our first weekend back open was fabulous! We're so appreciative of the people who came out to support. We want to be a meeting place for the community to return to post-COVID, and the only way to stay open is to continue to pay our rent and our employees."
The nightclub also continues its online shows and archived wild funny musicals at Oasis TV.