Oakland’s Starline Social Club Will Return as a Worker-Owned Collective This Fall | Eater SF

"Housed in a historic 1893 Odd Fellows Hall, this vintage‑chic venue pairs a ground‑floor bar and lounge with an upstairs 400‑person ballroom and became a central hub for Oakland’s art and music scene after opening in 2015. It hosted jazz nights, comedy, poetry, karaoke, open mics, underground dance parties, art installations, food pop‑ups, major performances from artists like Solange Knowles and Big Freedia as well as local hip‑hop, punk, and metal acts; it also ran Oakland’s largest natural wine fair and community events such as resource villages offering showers, hot meals, barbers, and rent‑relief fundraisers. Founded and operated by partners including Adam Hatch, Drew Bennett, and Sam White, the partners purchased the 8,520‑square‑foot building in 2018; because the business model depended on filling the ballroom, the pandemic forced them to briefly list the space for $3.2 million and the business for $300,000 until SBA loans and the promise of the Shuttered Venue Operators Grant allowed them to stay afloat. They are now revising systems and renovating—upgrading the kitchen to increase efficiency and volume and addressing persistent bathroom lines—with plans to reopen as a worker‑owned, community‑based mixed‑use venue so staff have ownership, agency, and “skin in the game.”" - Ellen Fort