Two illegal nightclubs and three gambling dens have been successfully shut down in San Francisco in recent months thanks to enforcement actions by the SF City Attorney's Office.
The office announced the closures of the five scofflaw businesses today, saying that all five "created a public nuisance and fueled illegal activity in San Francisco’s southeast neighborhoods."
One was an illegal after-hours nightclub that had been operating brazenly — and loudly — in a space at 3261 Mission Street for at least several months. Mission Local had reported on the club, which was operating out of Mexican restaurant Aurora, back in January, after a flyer had circulated advertising a New Year's Eve after-hours party there with "Dancing" and "DJs" going from 1 am to 8 am.
An illegal after-hours club was also operating out of the former Our Place bar in the Excelsior, at 4461 Mission Street. And gambling dens were shut down at 57 Leland Avenue in Visitacion Valley, 5530 Mission Street in the Outer Mission/Crocker-Amazon, and 1201 Cayuga Avenue in Cayuga Terrace.
The property owners at all five buildings were sent demand letters by the City Attorney's Office, requiring them to get their tenants to cease the illegal activity.
"I appreciate that the property owners cooperated with our demands to put an end to this wildly illegal conduct," said City Attorney Chiu in a statement. "This outcome brings real relief to the neighbors who endured the chaos caused by these illegal gambling dens and nightclubs. In each of these cases, our Code Enforcement Team worked hard to ensure San Francisco is a safe and enjoyable place to live."
Regarding the 3261 Mission Street after-hours club, neighbors apparently were subjected to extremely loud music in the wee hours of the morning for months.
"You could hear it blasting through the building with all my windows closed and me watching TV," one neighbor told Mission Local.
Another neighbor told the publication, "I thought I was crazy… I was, like, 'Is anyone else hearing this?' It’s incredibly loud."
An SFPD officer and an Entertainment Commission investigator apparently visited the establishment in November and December, and observed alcohol being served without a license, a DJ playing loud music, and two gambling machines.
SFPD officers raided the gambling den on Leland Avenue in January, seizing nine gambling machines and a stolen firearm and ammunition. Police also seized six gambling machines, firearms, and ammunition at the 5530 Mission Street location — that was after getting a search warrant following a report of shots fired at the address back in August 2024.
Executing a search warrant at the Cayuga Terrace address in September — which SFist reported on at the time — police reportedly seized ten gambling machines and methamphetamine.
The SFPD and SF City Attorney's Office also busted several illegal gambling dens in the Tenderloin last summer, including one that was a purported "drug house" as well, where $30,000 in cash was found.
Top image: The former Our Place bar in the Excelsior, via Google Street View
