A San Francisco bar has permanently shut its doors after the pandemic slashed business in the neighborhood and emptied out Downtown offices, the owner said.
The SoMa watering hole Bloodhound shut its doors for good on Thursday, according to co-owner Mike Goebel.
Goebel said that since reopening after a one-year closure during the pandemic from March 2020 to March 2021, sales have been down 70% compared with before the pandemic.
"The business wasn't making money," Goebel said. "The neighborhood is just so dead."
Bloodhound had been open at 1145 Folsom St. since 2009 and had a "hunting lodge feel," Goebel said. The bar's website is defunct, but an archived drinks menu page shows it dished out whiskey and gin cocktails, including an old-fashioned with maple syrup instead of sugar.
Goebel said he had been trying to sell the bar for the last six months until the bar's landlord, whom Goebel identified as a man named Dipak Patel, agreed to purchase it.
Goebel said Patel is relocating Bloodhound's liquor license to another property but only informed him a few weeks ago, meaning Bloodhound was suddenly forced to close. The Standard has been unable to reach Patel for comment.
"I'm bummed. I loved that bar," Goebel said. "It's sad the city hasn't bounced back."
While Bloodhound is being forced to close, other bars are opening in SoMa.
Legendary LGBTQ+ bar the Stud is slated to reopen on the same block at 1123-1125 Folsom St. after permanently closing its prior nearby location during the pandemic. A new SoMa bar also held a soft opening in August at its location on 312 Harriet St. The bar is officially named Sinombre, although patrons can change its digital signage to call it whatever they want.