SoMa nightclub 330 Ritch, which has played host to a wide array of musical acts and dance parties over the last decade and change, is shutting its doors following the very serious shooting on Saturday night that left three people injured, one critically.
Unlike other incidents of nightclub-related and nightclub-adjacent violence in the last couple years, this shooting began with a shot fired inside the club, which perhaps prompted the fast response from the owners. They met with the director of the Entertainment Commission, Jocelyn Kane, on Monday morning and immediately surrendered their entertainment license, telling her, reportedly, "We're done." The Commission had already issued an emergency suspension of the license on Sunday, as they are now empowered to do after the 2010 Suede nightclub shooting that left one man dead.
The move may be an effort to keep from losing their liquor license altogether, and could signal a desire to turn the place into more of a cocktail bar or food venue, but that remains to be seen. They could also just decide to sell.
Supervisor David Chiu said that he and his district were optimistic that nightlife violence numbers in and around North Beach were going down, but he says, "Unfortunately over the last six to twelve months there's been some indication that this is a problem that's not going away."
As ABC 7 reports, Mayor Ed Lee even commented on the incident, saying, "The entertainment industry is trying to have dialogue with me about more night entertainment, but if the nightclubs don't pick it up so we prevent this kind of thing, they're not going to get a favorable response from the city." That doesn't bode well for the movement to get last call extended to 4 a.m., as State Senator Mark Leno is currently trying to do and which our boring mayor has already expressed reservations about.
No arrests have yet been made in Saturday's shooting, but police say there is plenty of surveillance video which is now being reviewed.
Fun fact: Long ago, in the days before AIDS, this building was actually the Ritch Street Baths, and there are still some open-air showers on the roof to prove it.
[ABC 7]
Previously: Shooting Inside 330 Ritch Nightclub Injures 3
