S. F. venue parties through pandemic
The Midway leverages its location, features to survive
While many Bay Area entertainment venues have remained shuttered through the coronavirus pandemic, for months one San Francisco spot has played host to a lineup of dance parties, live performances and standup comedy shows.
The Midway, in the city’s Dogpatch neighborhood, has benefited from its remote location and vast 40,000squarefoot space. A fullservice kitchen and cafe on its premises, Madame Zola’s Fortune, has also helped keep it running.
“Being here really allowed us to use the unique qualities of the venue to do something,” says Andrea Kirk, the Midway’s assistant general manager.
Its warehouse and outdoor stage have featured several big names since the venue reopened, including comedian Whitney Cummings, and electronic music outfits such as Markus Schulz, Luttrell and Moon Boots.
“Part of the reason we have been able to have names like that is because of the unique position we are in with other clubs being closed,” says Sarah West, the Midway’s booking coordinator.
But operating during the pandemic has not been without its setbacks.
Earlier this month, the Midway was listed among a list of 11 bars, cafes and coffee shops that violated the city’s health order and were ordered to temporarily close by the San Francisco Department of Public Health, for violations that took place between March and November.
Some of the violations cited at the Midway, according to the
health department, included operating and serving food without proper approval, serving alcohol without a bona fide meal, “irresponsible social crowding,” gathering, dancing and “a lack of regard to proper social distancing.”
“City agencies responding to potential health order violations begin with educating the business about how to comply with the order. After education, if there are continued violations — especially highrisk violations such as patrons failing to wear face coverings and socially distance — the city can take formal enforcement action against the venue,” San Francisco’s COVID Command Center and Entertainment Commission told The Chronicle on Friday.
Indeed, the city shut down the venue on July 22 and issued owners Peter Glikshtern and Jordan Langer a cease and desist order for failure to comply with COVID health orders and directives.
It was allowed to reopen on Aug. 4, with an approved health and safety plan.
City inspectors have also visited the Midway about half a dozen times during the pandemic, with half prompted by noise complaints from neighbors.
“There have been growing pains,” Kirk says. “For the most part, it’s about communication so they know when things are happening. We are very lucky that they put up with us. They get it. They are all business owners, and they know that this is the only way some of our people are going to be paying their child support this month.”
Kirk says the venue has taken a cautious approach moving forward, especially as the Bay Area experiences a new surge of cases and San Francisco drops into the second most restrictive tier of California’s plan for reopening the economy.
When the venue first reopened in May, performers worked from inside the warehouse where shows normally take place while the music was streamed outside to the patrons on the patio. The Midway gradually set up a stage on the street and ushered in strict coronavirus safety protocols.
For instance, each pod of up to four attendees at the venue’s events gets its own markedoff space on the street, which stretches over two blocks. Everyone gets temperature checks at the door. And people are allowed indoors only to use the restrooms.
To make sure guests follow
“We’re obviously hoping we can continue to host outdoor dining experiences so that our community can find a regulated environment in which to partake in some joy and relief while remaining safe.” Andrea Kirk, the Midway’s assistant general manager
the rules, security guards monitor the crowds, with the venue “required to ask patrons to leave if they do not comply with facecovering rules,” San Francisco’s COVID Command Center said.
The Midway has also reduced its capacity to about 100 people per show, a drastic cut from the 6,500 that were allowed at the venue before the pandemic. That’s why the venue has largely avoided doing any advertising or marketing around its performance calendar, West says, and instead relied on word of mouth to draw people to events.
“We’re really cautious about it,” she says. “We understand that we’re still in a pandemic. It’s important for us to maintain control.”
With San Francisco in the red tier, the second most restrictive on California’s plan to reopen the economy, the Midway’s operators hope their high level of diligence allows them to keep going if the city falls into the most restrictive purple tier.
“We’re obviously hoping we can continue to host outdoor dining experiences so that our community can find a regulated environment in which to partake in some joy and relief while remaining safe,” Kirk says. “Much of our ability to do this is contingent upon the city continuing to allow outdoor dining. To that end, we continue to monitor the situation and look to city officials to guide us on next steps as we all navigate this.”
The venue leans on artists who will attract its regular clientele, who tend to favor underground DJs and electronic music producers. Partnerships with local promoters such as Peter Doukakis and Adam Swig have extended the Midway’s reach for drawing marquee names as West and Kirk prepare to expand its entertainment calendar with drivein movies, brunch parties and minifestivals on its outdoor stage.
Even with the weather growing colder, they are booking shows for the next few weeks and putting together a New Year’s Eve event.
“The ability to adapt is the only thing that’s going to allow any business to survive,” West says.
In September, San Francisco enacted a temporary permit program for outdoor entertainment and amplified sound called Just Add Music, or JAM, which allows entertainment in shared spaces and other outdoor locations as long as operators comply with the city’s health order, outdoor dining directive, sound ordinance and rules for performers, which include wearing a mask, social distancing and more.
The Midway’s JAM permit application is under staff review, pending the business’ shared spaces permit, according to the COVID Command Center and Entertainment Commission.
“One of the things that has come out of this is we put our plans into place knowing it could all change in a heartbeat,” Kirk says. “This year went much differently than anyone expected.”