SF’s Next Boozy ‘Entertainment Zone’ Could Be Coming to Cole Valley
Dec 11, 2024
Three blocks of Cole Valley are poised to be the next “entertainment zone” where bars can sell to-go cocktails during certain outdoor events and gatherings, adding to the two existing entertainment zones on Front Street and outside the Chase Center.With people still not going out like they used to, Mayor Breed and SF City Hall officials have been tinkering with various revitalization strategies to get you out spending money again, like the Vacant to Vibrant pop-ups, night markets, and downtown “entertainment zones” where restaurants and bars can sell to-go alcohol to the street revelers during certain outdoor events. The first of those “entertainment zone” parties was an Oktoberfest party on Front Street in front of Schroeder’s, Harrington’s Bar & Grill, and the Royal Exchange, then a Halloween Nightmare on Front Street party at that same location, and there was also boozy tree lighting ceremony at the newly established entertainment zone outside the Chase Center on November 30. Now the entertainment zones may be coming to areas that are not downtown. On the heels of last Thursday’s Cole Valley Nights night market, the Chronicle reports that Breed and Supervisor Rafel Mandelman are proposing an entertainment zone designation for Cole Valley. When introducing the legislation Tuesday at a Board of Supervisors meeting, the district’s supervisor Mandelman said the entertainment zone “could launch as early as March 2025, and will enable restaurants and bars in the zone to sell alcoholic beverages to-go for outdoor consumption events and activations.”Mandelman did not describe the boundaries of the entertainment zone when speaking at the board meeting Tuesday. A press release from Breed’s office merely describes the proposed entertainment zone as “spanning approximately three blocks.”That release also quotes the owners of Zazie and Finnegans Wake, so those venues might be included in the zone. Though Finnegans Wake owner Dan Serot was being quoted in his capacity as president of the Cole Valley Merchants Association, so we’ll see.The small handful of entertainment zone parties have apparently been quite successful. Breed’s release says that Schroeder’s, Harrington’s, and the Royal Exchange enjoyed a “700-1,500% increase in sales” during the Oktoberfest and Halloween events, and that Chase Center shop proprietors reported “a significant increase in sales compared to a non-event day” at the Christmas tree lighting event.Related: SF Supervisors Streamline Permit Rules to Create More Boozy ‘Entertainment Zone’ Parties [SFist]Image: Jen B. via Yelp