Much-Loved Elbo Room Officially Closes at the End of the Year | Eater SF

"After a long run and various starts and stops, I learned that Elbo Room, a dimly lit dive bar and live music venue in San Francisco, will close on January 1, 2019: the building is on the market and the business’s lease was not renewed, according to co-owner Matt Shapiro. Fans had held out hope after the bar received a one-year lease extension in August, when landlords still had not secured permits for condo development, but Curbed SF reports the permits now allow a five-story project with seven residential condos, one commercial condo, and four car parking spaces, and the building has been listed for $4.2 million. Co-owners Erik Cantu and Matt Shapiro bought the bar in 2010 after years working there as manager and booker; they opened a second Elbo Room in Oakland’s Jack London Square earlier this year, which will remain unaffected by San Francisco’s real estate drama. After nearly a decade of looming development threats and years of coverage of its impending closure by Eater SF, head over for one last dimly lit cocktail and a show before 2019." - Ellen Fort