Zeitgeist Applies to Expand Next Door

Longstanding Valencia Street bar and beer garden Zeitgeist is applying to extend its liquor license to cover a currently empty industrial space next door, posting a notice of a “premises to premises” liquor license transfer. The adjacent space at 80 Duboce Avenue is a former sheet metal shop reportedly purchased by Zeitgeist’s owners in 2016. That building bounds the back of the Zeitgeist patio — it’s the wall decorated with pink (Delirium Tremens) elephants.

Caleb Pershan

That patio, of course, is a popular melting pot for bikers, skaters, techies, tourists, and other assorted weirdos. It’s typically packed on weekends, and there’s probably room for more next door. Plans for the 80 Duboce space aren’t clear, and Eater has reached out to the bar for details, but Zeitgeist staff aren’t usually talkative types. The bar’s tagline, “Warm Beer, Cold Women,” nods to its self-consciously gruff service.

Google street view

Even as Zeitgeist eyes expansion, it’s fought to maintain the status quo. In February, the bar prevailed in a skirmish over a nearby development that could have cast a shadow over the patio, damaging business that typically booms on sunny days. The developer of 198 Valencia, a lot across the street that’s currently an oil change business, agreed to change its condo designs to lower their height, retaining all 28 planned units of housing in a compromise approved by the Planning Commission.

• That’s the spirit: Zeitgeist seeking license to expand [Capp Street Crap]
• Zeitgeist Wins Shady Battle Against Developer, and More A.M. Intel [ESF]