Iconic San Francisco LGBTQ bar, The Stud, reopens in a new location
After a four-year closure, an iconic San Francisco bar has a new home.
After a four-year closure, an iconic San Francisco bar has a new home. One of the city’s oldest gay bars, The Stud, closed early on during the pandemic due to a lack of revenue. Saturday evening, the community celebrated its grand reopening — with a look back at its history and a look ahead with hopes for the future.
The Stud’s new location is at 1123 Folsom Street in the South of Market neighborhood, just a few blocks away from its previous location on 9th Street.
“We were sad to see it closed but we were determined to get it open, and here we are four years later,” said Nate Allbee, a co-owner of the Stud. Allbee explained that the Stud is owned by a collective group of people who banded together to keep the bar open back in 2016. Albee said it’s the first collectively owned nightclub in the United States.
The Stud opened its doors in 1966 and operated continuously until the pandemic forced it to shutter in 2020. Allbee said the collective stored all the historic elements of the old bar and rallied the community to help find a new space for it to reopen.
At the Stud’s reopening celebration, a line of people snaked around the block waiting for a chance to see the new space.
Rating: 5