The Tea Room Theatre, a longstanding home for all male adult entertainment and viewer participation in the Tenderloin, will close its doors according to a rumor of which the Bay Area Reporter has caught wind.
Hoodline reiterates the news, and points to a 2014 article in LGBTQ nation that stated the lease was running out according to a person only identified as "Mama Steve."
With its private and public video lounges, the '70s era Tea Room — really a porn cinema, strip joint, and sex club — is reportedly among the last such destinations in the city. Equally, says the Bay Area Reporter, it's one of the last gay-owned businesses in the Tenderloin. The final day for "exotic, erotic male dancers every day," will reportedly be the 15th.
Meanwhile, there's word of some hope for another gay Tenderloin institution, this one a bit more, shall we say, reputable. It's possible that the Gangway, the town's oldest gay bar, could be spared from a potential takeover after all.