The Eagle is a phoenix

After much, much brouhaha and hubbub, it looks like the San Francisco's iconic, historic, and community-centric Eagle Tavern will fly again. Since I posted about the chicanery behind its demise before, I thought I should follow up with its resurrection.

drink up

Coinciding nicely with Cocktail Week here in San Francisco, the Governor has signed into law the bill sponsored by our own Mark Leno repealing the prohibition-era law prohibiting bartenders and bars from infusing their own liquors.  Rumors run rampant about a corrupt and amok ABC, particularly in SF where they appear to shake down bars for occupancy/noise/patrons queueing on sidewalk issues, and even closing down Slim's for spurious noise complaints (far outside their purview and a potentially illegal abuse of power).  For some unknown reason, local constabularies have been hassling without apparent rhyme or reason certain bars and bartenders for flavoring or infusing their own vodkas with fruits or flavors, sometimes inequitably imposing $250 fines for doing so, and citing an alcohol control ordinance that hadn't been enforced since the repeal of prohibition.  Why does "state" + "alcohol control" so often = "corruption"?  Dunno.

What is nice to know is that now there are even more tasty treats your skilled mixologist can concoct recommend without fear of government reprisal.  Happy Cocktail Week.

And on a related note, the saga behind the closing of the Eagle bar and the fate of both the Eagle bar identity and its liquor license are sill unfolding.  As usual, the Bay Area Report has some excellent local reporting.

Eagle Tavern conspiracy of one?

This just in from Anna Conda/Glendon Hyde on the Save the Eagle Facebook page.  (I make no claims to its veracity, but Anna Conda/Glendon Hyde has been extremely diligent and active in the issue and by all accounts has been entirely reliable.)

What If the problem with loosing the Eagle was an inside job?

So this is just a made up story or is it?

You own two bars in SOMA and you are a heavy drinker and poor business person. One bar called the Hole in the Wall is your baby and it just cost you a great deal of money to relocate it in the SOMA neighborhood. You want this bar to continue and can't afford the second bar called the Eagle. You decide to sell the Eagle but during that time there is rampant problems created by this owner like inventory problems, rent not being paid for months and you decide it would be better to sell to a straight owner to cut down on competition for your bar the Hole in the Wall. In fact you have willingly made a deal to sell to the owners of the Skylark bar.

Well what would happen then if some drag queen and a young faerie hold a "Save the Eagle" rally and garner national attention around the closing of this institution and due to public pressure ruin the sale before it goes through?

Well one you would stand in front of these people and say there is no hope of saving the Eagle. You would say in the media there is no five year lease. You probably would not mention that there have been problems in your paying rent and thats why the owner of the land wants you out. You probably would not say that you received an eviction notice or two along the way and ignored them so that when the notice to appear in court around said eviction it comes as a shock to the people who are trying to save the Eagle. You would probably yell at your manager that this is his fault. Finally you would hold the liquor license hostage from potential buyers like say the owner of the Dallas Eagle; who has a great reputation as a community and AIDS activist. You might also go into the Eagle and start removing art work and memorabilia and stop liquor deliveries. Yep if your names were John and Joe and you currently just want out at any cost you would do this.... and to your own community.

While talking to a lawyer for the property owner all this might come out and become knowledge for the community. This lawyer would tell you things like, "Of corse we want a 30 year business to stay in the property that is just good business sense." Or "If it were not for all the problems with the current lease holder the entire process would have been easier," Or even "Keep it the Eagle but we can't get you the liquor license because John and Joe own that and they don't want to sell it."

It sounds like fiction but actually it's just about as true as can be. Hoodwinked by members of our own community.

Thanks a lot John and Joe. That was real nice to find out yesterday as you dismantled a place so many called home. Hope the Hole in the Wall serves you well but I will say that I will never step foot into one of your establishments again. I am very saddened to find all this out and would never ever give you another cent of queer monies after what you have put us through this last month. Utterly disturbing!

And if this is true, then my apologies to concluding that the land owner was the jerk in this story—however it would be nice to actually hear something on the record from the landlord to clear this up.

And last night, the Bay Area Reporter filed this piece as they continue their coverage of this story and their efforts to untangle exactly what's going on (spoiler: We still don't know.).

the Eagle hasn't landed, it fell

Word is out on the Save the Eagle Facebook page from Anna Conda:  A moving van is in front of the Eagle Tavern.  They are parking up all of the "art" and other items and will stay open until the stock runs out.


Update:  Wow.  This is some dark drama.  By reports, the closing of the Eagle was setup by the owner who lied about things like not paying rent, eviction notices, and blocking the sale to anyone who would keep it open—so the bar would be forced to close and he could sell the liquor license to a straight bar so that the LGBT/leather Eagle, which he was killing, would not compete with his new LGBT leather bar, into which he sank a fortune, in the same neighborhood.

If this is true it is just all sorts of bad.  And if substantiated, I don't see the LGBT/leather/SoMa community supporting the Hole in the Wall any more either.  I'll repost Anna Conda's online note here shortly.

This whole debacle makes me want to open my own alternative space in SoMa--leather half the week and country/western the other half.  And live urban country bands as often as possible.

and more in Eagle Tavern/Are You Kidding Me?! news

Headline from the Bay Area Reporter: Eviction lawsuit filed against Eagle Tavern.

Oh shit. I think the threat level is going to rise way past "Hell No."

And based on the evidence currently available, landlord John Nikitopoulos is the villain of this piece.

I think there is a history lesson to be heeded here. Do not mess with The Gays. Especially ones that don't flinch at having their most delicate of delicates repeatedly pierced by steel objects. Mr. Nikitopoulos would do well to avoid being on the business end of an enraged biker/leather queen collective hissy fit.

I'm just sayin'.

And Mr. Nikitopoulos continues to dodge calls from politicians, reporters, legal parties, and even his own tenants. Nice.

and in The Fate of the Eagle Tavern news...

Seth Hemmelgarn files a post on the eBAR (Bay Area Reporter) that the owner of the Eagle bar in Dallas is eager to buy and run the original Eagle Tavern in SF. The sale to Skylark got the kybosh when the community went collectively apeshit over the idea.

And, it seems, the only wrench in the becoming a done deal is the elusive, unresponsive, and at this point irresponsible property owner John Nikitopoulos.

Why is there not more news or background on this one guy who is alienating and frustrating a significant SF community, and evoking the ire and disdain of so many citizens, neighbors, politicians and reporters? Who is this guy, what's his game, and is he really such an egregious jerk? Maybe he's just an absentee landlord. Sure, one that's completely uncaring about the property or tenants (as so many absentee landlords are in this town), but maybe he's just an old guy who wants to retire and sell his property for as much as he can, which is well within his rights. However, in his silence, we only have his actions to judge him by—which at this point seem to point to the conclusion that yes, he is in fact an complete asshole.

Skylark no longer involved in Eagle sale/closing

I had a much too long overdue catch-up dinner with The Jamez last night and didn't make into gear and over to Skylark until around 9:30. Glendon Hyde/Anna Conda had "invited" all for 8:00. By that time there were still maybe a dozen, maybe ten, guys in leather and/or Eagle gear still at the bar. All of them very leather and very charming. Some of them hadn't been there that long either and had no new information. Vince had been there longer and could only offer updated unofficial word that Skylark and its people were no longer involved in the sale of the Eagle. Links to more, and hopefully credibly sourced, information will follow here when I come across them.


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Update: The SF Weekly seems to be covering this news pretty closely online.  See yesterday morning's detailed report on the situation (short version of what appears to be happening: the absentee property owner Nikitopoulos is a acting like a huge prick, and not in the good way), and see the Weekly's blog posts on what this all really means.

And the Always Awesome Matt Baume has this report filed today (Thursday, April 14) with the Bay Area Reporter. Again, it looks like the property owner is the problem, refusing to let anyone buy the place who would keep the Eagle running. Judging by a caption to the BAR article, it looks like I was much too late to the Skylark last night: "Supervisor Scott Wiener and former Supervisor Bevan Dufty spoke to about 50 activists as they held a sit-in Monday night at the Skylark bar, whose owner is slated to buy the Eagle Tavern."

Another update: More from the BAR on the Eagle's liquor license transfer sale.

April 13! Guerilla leather night to support the Eagle!

Wednesday night, Anna Conda is proposing a leather takeover of the Skylark bar (16th & Valencia) as they have taken over the Eagle's liquor license and word is that ownership won't let the Eagle continue operations and won't allow transfer of the lease to others who would keep the Eagle going. It appears that if a straight Mission d'bags is willing to cary out a hostile takeover a SoMa gay space, the leather queens are happy to descend on the Mission instead.

From Anna Conda:



As always, be sure to tip your bartender.

Please see this earlier post for context and updates.

gay venue death watch

WTF?  Notable closing announcements this week:  Fuzio, Bagdad Cafe, A Different Light Books, A. G. Ferrrari, and Letcia's—all in the Castro—and now the Eagle?

The Eagle?

That is both a local internationally culturally iconic bar.  Gossip is spreading like wildfire regarding the cause for closing (They only make money on Sundays!  No they don't!  The staff is buying it!  The landlord is not accepting offers to keep the bar so he can make more selling it to a condo developer!)  Regardless of all speculation, the closing of The Eagle is actually a very big deal for the city and its nightlife, neighborhood and gay communities.

At least the SFist is covering the story and doing so well.  It should stop amazing me that the local papers don't cover local news any more.

It will be interesting to see what comes out of the "community meeting" tonight.

Update:  The always on it Brock Keeling of the SFist has this about what went down at the meeting.

Update 04/13: Alert Reader Joaquin notes "The owner of the Skylark was approached to buy it, it is so not a hostile take over aimed at ousting the community. He was born and raised in SF and he and his wife are two of the most Gay friendly business people who have also been a great supporter of the LGBT community."

Additional word, all of it of mouth so take your salt, is that it is the landlord that is the impediment here, and that he's refusing a lease transfer or even a sale to those who would keep the bar open. What is at play here? The guy really wants to become a developer and sell condos here? I dunno. Ear shall remain firmly attached to the ground. And eyes to the blogs.