Thee Parkside, the bar and concert venue that is one of the last vestiges of San Francisco’s punk scene, may have “no future” and could close, according to its owner.
Paperwork was signed this week to sell the building housing the 17th Street bar to a developer for nearly $1.33 million.
The sale comes after the longtime owner of the building at 1600 17th St., Maria Gloria Rando, died earlier this year. Her elderly husband didn’t want to manage the property, according to Thee Parkside’s owner, Malia Spanyol.
Spanyol, who has run the venue since 2007, said she fought to hold onto the business that came to be known for a wide range of gatherings, including motorcycle meetups, “Twang Sundays” and headbanger metal shows. As the longtime tenant, she had first rights to buy the lot.
Though she couldn’t come up with the money, Spanyol found someone in the restaurant industry willing to buy her business and the property for the asking price of $1.3 million and keep it alive. But the realtor wouldn’t consider the bid, Spanyol said, and went with an unknown buyer who offered almost $1.33 million.
She was given two days to match the new, even higher, number. She couldn’t, and on Tuesday waived her rights to buy the building. She is now waiting to hear from the new landlord about Thee Parkside’s fate.
Realtor Darwin Tejada did not return requests for comment. The building is currently in escrow, Spanyol said, and the bar’s lease recently ended.
“This community is fading fast in this city anyway. The people that Parkside has served over the years aren’t around,” Spanyol said, though that doesn’t mean she is ready to give it up.
“If this developer is kind and wants to work with me, that would be ideal,” said Spanyol. But she expects a demolition of the building, and fears her business of 18 years is likely over — she just doesn’t know how soon.
“If they’re dicks, they could kick me out right away.”
If Thee Parkside does shut, it may not be curtains closed. Spanyol said that, eventually, she’ll seek out another “dirtbaggy” corner of the city to keep the music playing.
So sad to see Thee Parkside go. We are seeing the death of the culture that San Francisco on the map being erased like the history that some officials want to erase from our records. This is a sad story among many.
What do we do ?? How can we help ??
Stare down every single realtor you see until they feel the shame of their job.
Couple things seem odd to me. First, the space is huge, between the building and the patio. So that seems very cheap. I’m no real estate appraiser, but I would have guessed more. Second, it’s hard for me to believe a deal got held up over a $30k difference. That’s a rounding error once you’re over a million.
As a neighbor who lives down the street and goes to Thee Parkside often, it would be incredibly disappointing if it shut down. Places like this are what make a neighborhood worth living in.
I wish they’d tried to do some crowdfunding to come up with the money to buy the building when they had the opportunity. Looks like yet another great SF establishment is going to have the rug pulled out from under them by a property owner. There’s really no way to be truly safe as a bar/restaurant in SF other than owning the building.
The surest road to heartbreak is an emotional investment in San Francisco
Closing one by one…the city is losing its institutions, losing its soul.. I know the city always recovered when facing adversity, but it will never come back the way it was…I know, things change, they cannot stay forever the same but the cool vibes, the art scenes, the galleries, etc are gone..welcome to the TikTok world..Me, Myself and I..me me me..get ready for a really boring future.
“I know, things change, they cannot stay forever the same but the cool vibes, the art scenes, the galleries, etc are gone”
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But that’s only from the point of view of the old guard. Every precious neighborhood institution was once a horrible newcomer that displaced a previous precious neighborhood institution.
For example, consider Royal Ground Coffee, on Geary and 17th Ave. A friend was telling me how much they loved this antique neighborhood cafe. I said, I still can’t get over that they closed Canterbury Books. Back in 1980, Canterbury Books was the cool neighborhood institution in the same space. People would hang out there before or after going to the see a movie at the Alexandria, a block up. Now, of course, the Alexandria has been closed for years.
The lesson is that things change the way they have to change. And things don’t really change for the better or for the worse. They change for the different.
“Every precious neighborhood institution was once a horrible newcomer that displaced a previous precious neighborhood institution.”
Absolutely not true.
Huge bummer, I love this place, wish the community had the opportunity to come together for it.
$1.3M? If it could get zoned “mixed use” with apartment, that’s a $6,500/m mortgage +$1k property taxes for a heart filled corner of SF history. I’m sure it’s way more complicated than that…
Cherishing Thee Parkside good times and Malia’s relentless radness.
Adios. Sad to see a local biz shudder because I love supporting JBs and Wolfe’s around the corner. I tried to visit one evening, but the bouncer told me they were at capacity when there was clearly space inside. I don’t know if it was my brown skin or my salt and pepper hair, but I’m definitely not white and don’t have blond or brunette hair.
Not to miss the gravity of the situation, but that is one cool Karmann Ghia in the picture.
It’s a single-story building, representing a deplorable use of space. Think of the housing that could be built there.
Since when is a beloved, localized culture deplorable? Your antisocial comment leads one to suspect you care more about housing profits than those who would live in it.
The operative term here is “yimby”.