Oldest gay bar Stud shutters as debt skyrockets
Without parties and people, in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, an empty Stud bar was accruing $440 in debt a day, about $13,000 a month. This wasn’t sustainable, said the owners of San Francisco’s oldest gay bar as they explained their decision to leave their longtime home at Ninth and Harrison streets.
“It is painful and sad,” said Mica Sigourney, also known by his drag moniker Vivvyanne ForeverMORE, during a virtual news conference Thursday. “It’s a deep loss for us. We’ve been in the building since 1987.”
The conference, hosted on Zoom but broadcast on the bar’s Twitch page, fleshed out a story that broke the night before about plans to shutter the Stud’s current location permanently. There weren’t many details at that time, so the virtual conference aimed to bring
some clarity to the Stud’s uncertain future.
Sigourney — along with Rachel Ryan and Honey Mahogany, two other members of the cooperative that owns the Stud — said they plan to continue to search for a “forever home” for the bar and the community that has grown up around it for the past 54 years.
“One thing I do know is we as the Stud owners are incredibly dedicated,” Mahogany said. “We really are committed to continuing the legacy of the Stud.”
“We’re certainly not done and we’re going to keep fighting until we find a new space,” Ryan added.
That search for a new location has been ongoing for years, and it’s clear it will cost, at the very least, hundreds of thousands of dollars. That’s a heavy lift for a bar that “essentially operate(s) as a nonprofit,” Ryan said. The bar generally just breaks even, she said, but the collective keeps the Stud open for a community they love. Adding months of accrued rental debt during a shutdown with no end in sight would make it even more difficult. So, she said, “it’s time for us to mourn that weird, strange, smelly building.”
Both state Sen. Scott Wiener, DSan Francisco, and city Supervisor Matt Haney joined the virtual conference to offer their support for the Stud. Wiener said news of the closing hit him particularly hard as a gay man.
“This is personal for me,” he said. Bars and nightclubs are more than just places to party for the LGBTQ community, he added. “These are community spaces.”
Still, he, like the four other speakers at the conference, struck an optimistic tone. Wiener mentioned successful efforts to revive and move other San Francisco gay bars like the Eagle and Hole in the Wall. And the Stud itself has moved once before.
“I know we are going to do that again,” Wiener said. “I am totally confident the Stud is going to come back.”
Haney said he would do everything in his power to help the owners find and purchase a permanent home, and build it out if need be.
“This venue is irreplaceable,” Haney said, “and we cannot imagine a San Francisco that exists without the Stud.”
In the meantime, the owners will retain the bar’s liquor license, a precious commodity in San Francisco, where licenses can go for more than $200,000. They also said they would continue the bar’s online programming, launched shortly after the city’s shelterinplace order in March, which includes “DragAlive,” a weekly digital drag showcase, and a podcast about the Stud’s history.
The Stud is one of the city’s most storied queer institutions. Over more than five decades, it has built a reputation as an anythinggoes, experimental art space. The Stud’s stage has hosted a long list of notable musicians and performers, including Etta James, Sylvester, Bjork, Lady Gaga and RuPaul. All the while, it has weathered its fair share of storms. The bar nearly shut down four years ago until a coalition of nightlife workers came together to save it. Since then it has experienced a cultural renaissance.
When news of the decision to close the Stud’s South of Market location came Wednesday, it quickly spread — not just around the Bay Area, but around the world. People as far away as Germany and Australia mourned the loss.
During Thursday’s conference, which was open to the public, more than 300 people tuned in to hear firsthand what would happen next. Emoji hearts and comments came in a fast, unending stream. “Sending love.” “I love you all.” “Long live the Stud!” On May 31, the Stud collective plans to host a virtual funeral for their current home. There will be eulogies and drag performances, Sigourney said. “An epic show.” And everybody will wear black.
Stud Funeral: 6 p.m. May 31. www.twitch.tv/ dragalive