After 30 Years as an SF Dive Bar Icon, Elbo Room to Close

After a long run and various starts and stops, Elbo Room’s last day in business will be January 1, 2019. The building is officially on the market, and the business’s lease has not been renewed, according to co-owner Matt Shapiro.

Fans of the dive bar and live venue have had high hopes since the bar received a one-year lease extension in August of last year. At that time, the landlords had not yet procured the necessary permits for condo development; now, the permits allow for five stories with seven residential condos, one commercial condo, and four car parking, according to Curbed SF. The building has been listed for $4.2 million.

Co-owners Erik Cantu and Matt Shapiro purchased the bar in 2010, after working there for years as the manager and booker. They opened a second location of the bar and music venue in Oakland’s Jack London Square earlier this year, which will remain unaffected by the real estate dramas of San Francisco.

This is the nail in the coffin for the bar which has been threatened by development on and off for almost a decade: Eater SF has reported on its impending closure for years and years. So, head over for one last dimly lit cocktail and a show before 2019.