Earlier this week, the Entertainment Commission handed Brick & Mortar Music Hall a ruling that will put a significant damper on a live music venue located on an already noisy part of Mission Street near Duboce Street and a freeway offramp. The Commission reviewed nearly two years of complaints from Mission Street neighbors in a hearing Wednesday evening, before ordering the venue to improve soundproofing and limit noise to 80 decibels — less noise than running a blender.

The owners claim they've already made $50,000 worth of soundproof improvements to the space, but the Entertainment Commission told owner Jason Perkins he was "not taking responsibility" for the noise. Perkins and his partner now have until June 15th to schedule additional improvements or face further restrictions.

Despite some support from the neighbors and no complaints from police, the venue was still hit with additional noise restrictions. "Since they couldn't legally shut us down," a representative for the venue wrote on Brick & Mortar's Facebook page, "they changed our permit so that our sound rating is 80 db." For comparison's sake, that's roughly equivalent to hearing a diesel truck pass by 50 feet away, or running the garbage disposal in your kitchen. "So..we're open but please tiptoe and whisper," the venue added.

In addition to the harsh restrictions, Perkins alleges there was foul play on the part of the Entertainment Commission, who he claims broke their own rule about providing sufficient notice before a public hearing. In an interview with SFWeekly, the club owner also claimed he was being hassled by the commission because he refused to hire bouncers from commissioner Vajra Granelli's Yojimbo security company. Other venue owners speaking off the record also claimed they had similar experiences, although Granelli denies the accusations. Commission Executive Director Jocelyn Kane called the claims "a distraction" from the ongoing complaints next door.

[Brick & Mortar]
[SFEx]
[SFWeekly]