Some remarks at Monday’s 2023 Nightlife and Entertainment Summit have Mayor Breed getting some blowback from nightclub owners, when said she couldn’t think of a good nightclub in San Francisco.
Monday was the 2023 Nightlife and Entertainment Summit, an annual event were the bigwigs of the local nightlife industry “address the current issues facing the industry.” And they had Mayor London Breed speak, which seems a good get. But Breed’s remarks were not good music to the ears of the nightclub owners, as the Chronicle reports she remarked she couldn’t name a good nightclub in San Francisco.
The video is above, and Breed speaks at the 8:18 mark. You can judge for yourself if Breed stepped in it, as here’s what she said:
“The other day I was coming from dinner down near the Ferry Building and ran into some people from Canada,” Breed said. “And they were like ‘Where are you guys going? What’s going on in San Francisco tonight?’ Now to be clear, it was like barely eight o’clock. And I couldn’t think of where to tell people to go, where the party was at. Yes, we have a lot of various local bars and entities and other places, but I was like ‘Man, I can’t even think off the top of my head what might be going on on a Wednesday night in San Francisco that I could direct someone to. So number one, I need a list.”
Mayor London Breed’s comments on San Francisco nightlife draw criticism from venue owners: ‘We desperately need tangible solutions’
— Demian Bulwa (@demianbulwa) June 7, 2023
By @lilyjaniak https://t.co/SIx0bHodBB
It also may not have helped that she started her address with “For the nightlife community, you guys sure look like you’re not ready to party,” a joke that fell massively flat.
But definitely the not being able to name a good bar or nightclub left some club owners less than thrilled with Breed’s remarks. Amado’s and the Riptide owner David Quinby told the Chronicle, “To hear a mayor of a world-class city say that she couldn’t think of anywhere to tell a couple of tourists to go at 8 p.m. in a room full of people that are desperately trying to save their entertainment spaces was troubling.”
This is San Francisco doing what we do best, proudly celebrating our diverse communities as we kick off Pride Month and raise the Pride Flag at City Hall! We continue to be a City for everyone and we are committed to ensuring anyone can come here and feel welcomed. #PrideMonth 🏳️🌈 pic.twitter.com/J75FOsEKO3
— London Breed (@LondonBreed) June 2, 2023
Breed could have named Oasis, as owner and SF Drag Laureate D'Arcy Drollinger had literally just introduced Breed at the event, and with whom she’s been recording Pride promotions. Her speech name-checked Lion’s Den owner Steven Lee, so she could have mentioned that club. Or she could have remembered Great Northern or the Black Cat, both of which she was busted at partying maskless during the highly infectious periods of the pandemic.
Image: Joe Kukura, SFist
