Iconic San Francisco bar that closed after fire will reopen years later

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More than three years after a fire forced it to close, Q Bar, a club in the Castro area, has announced that it will reopen in the coming months.

The owner of Cip Cipriano told The Standard on Wednesday that after a residential fire in 2019, Q Bar underwent a major renovation with new toilets and walls.

“The finishing touches are coming,” Cipriano said. “We can give an approximate date. Q Bar will open in the spring.”

The Bay Area Reporter first announced the opening.

The venue suffered severe water damage as firefighters battled an early-morning fire in residential apartments upstairs that escalated to four alarms before it was finally extinguished.

At the time of its closure, Q Bar was one of the area’s most popular and well-known bars. Primarily catering to a younger crowd with pop and dance music, it had the vibe people think of when they think of Castro, seven nights a week. DJ and San Francisco drag legend Juanita MORE! hosted a Wednesday party there called the Booty Call for many years.

Q Bar “was the first bar to welcome queer people of color in the Castro, the first bar to welcome trans people in the Castro, and had employees that fit both of those categories,” Cipriano said. “For a lot of people, Q Bar was the place they called home, and soon they may be able to do so again.”

Its resurgence comes at a time when Castro has been hit by numerous closures despite the active reopening of new nightlife venues. Harvey’s, which has been at a busy intersection for more than a quarter of a century, abruptly closed in January. Losses from less historic businesses, including taqueria and a juice bar, also increased, exacerbating the vacancy problems that had plagued Castro’s commercial core for years.

Hanging over it all is the fate of the Castro Theater across the street. A recent change to its interior may force Another Planet Entertainment, which runs the century-old movie palace, to reconsider plans to transform it into a multidisciplinary entertainment venue.

Thirteen people were displaced in a 2019 fire that affected Q Bar and Osaka Sushi next door, as well as a retail store. Osaka Sushi has not reopened, although its closure is also considered temporary on Yelp and elsewhere. The cause of the fire has not yet been fully established.

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