In 2021, a mentally disturbed man scrambled to the roof of the Castro Theatre and smashed the venue’s signature neon marquee, mangling a symbol of an iconic San Francisco neighborhood.
The sign had been in disrepair for years, often with a letter or two burned out from its lighted display. That metaphor was reflected in stories Castro residents and merchants told during the pandemic of declining street conditions, increasing vacancies, and the distinct feeling of an area in decline.
So it was fitting that on a Saturday night in mid-January, three vibrantly dressed revelers stood beneath the fully repaired sign, bathed in its flashing pink glow. Another Planet Entertainment, the company behind Outside Lands, repaired the marquee over the summer as part of an overhaul of the century-old theater that is slated to be completed this year.
Despite the frigid temperatures and their dismay over the impending inauguration of Donald Trump, the trio were ready to party.
“The resurgence is happening,” said Basi Love, a self-proclaimed “Castrolebrity” who works the late shift at around-the-clock diner Orphan Andy’s. The evidence was showing up in the restaurant’s sales and the tips he was pocketing. “2025 is going to be a good year for the Castro.”
A vibe shift is in the works, according to conversations with more than a dozen Castro merchants, politicians, and residents.
It’s not just a feeling. According to an analysis by the Bay Area Council Economic Institute, the Castro is a bright spot in San Francisco for new business activity. In 2024, the neighborhood had the highest ratio of openings to closures of any SF neighborhood, at 2.14, versus the city average of 1.73.
What’s more, the entrants are helping to shed Castro’s reputation as frozen in amber and catering primarily to cis gay men. The neighborhood is becoming more inclusive as it seeks to champion a wider definition of what it means to be queer in San Francisco.
As fears grow of a full-fledged federal government attack on LGBTQ rights, residents feel that community cohesion and mutual support are more important than ever.
Trump’s presidency will likely be harrowing, said Love’s friend Steven Fishel, but there’s power in community: “The Castro will prevail.”
A grand reopening
Cafe Flore, a 47-year-old restaurant prominently located on a triangular corner of Market and Noe streets, quietly closed in 2019. The space remained shuttered for more than four years, becoming a magnet for vandalism and illegal activity, as well as an eyesore for residents.
Last spring, Serhat Zorlu revived the restaurant as the seafood concept Fisch & Flore.
Renovation dragged on longer than expected, he said, citing typical complaints around city permitting and construction hurdles. But business has been steady and there’s momentum in the area, he said.
He’s eagerly awaiting the next step in that process: the Castro Theatre’s reopening.
“The theater is the soul of the neighborhood,” Zorlu said. “I think that once it’s back, the Castro will get its soul back.”
Another Planet’s renovation of the Castro Theatre is meant to modernize the aging venue and bring in new types of entertainment. But the closure in early 2024 vaporized a stream of visitors that came to the area for shows and events.
When, exactly, the theater will reopen isn’t clear. The rumored dates range from June — in time for Pride — to just before the end of the year. Another Planet Entertainment declined to give a time frame.
Still, the Castro’s trajectory has been trending upward, with ground-floor vacancies dropping in the past year, according to Andrea Aiello, who leads the neighborhood’s community benefit district.
In 2023, the vacancy rate in the Castro CBD footprint was around 22%; it fell to 17% this year, and about a quarter of those vacancies are under lease for near-term occupation. “I expect to see many of these new leases open in the next three to four months,” Aiello said.
Entrepreneurs are reactivating the area, bringing new life to vacant spots that previously acted as energy sucks. For example, cocktail bar Pink Swallow is expected to open this year in the old Harvey’s space at 500 Castro St., and Rikki’s, the city’s only bar focused on women’s sports, is taking over a location that lost its previous tenant last year.
Walking through the neighborhood, though, boarded-up windows still abound. Sisters Coffee Shop abruptly closed late last year, and some properties, like the former Pottery Barn at 2390 Market St., have remained stubbornly vacant since even before the pandemic. Meanwhile, the neighborhood has other challenges, some more visible than others.
“We’re not SoMa, and we’re not the Tenderloin, but there’s a volume of people here who are struggling with serious addictions and untreated mental illness,” said Supervisor Rafael Mandelman, who represents the Castro.
He said he plans to work with Mayor Daniel Lurie to find ways to address the “totally unacceptable levels of chaos and disorder” in the neighborhood’s public spaces, adding, “There’s a lot to look forward to and many ways in which the future’s bright.”
‘An everything neighborhood’
The Castro is known worldwide as a site of gay liberation, but also as a debaucherous party hub for mainly cis gay men.
High-energy bars like Badlands, Beaux, and The Cafe draw lines for weekend dance parties, and watering holes like Twin Peaks, Copper Bar, and Moby Dick remain popular. But business owners say that neighborhood identity is shifting.
“It was gay men being sexy,” Alvin Orloff, owner of Fabulosa Books, said of the Castro’s reputation. “Now it’s more diverse — it’s kind of an everything neighborhood.”
Yes, it still hosts sweaty, euphoric dance parties and drag brunches, but the Castro now also has upscale cocktails, nicer food, and more family-friendly establishments, including Fabulosa.
Orloff’s life story is symbolic of that transformation. He worked as an exotic dancer before a career as a DJ, author, and Dog Eared Books employee, and he loves that his shop is a place where queer kids can learn about LGBTQ history alongside their parents. Recently, a teenager visiting from Texas asked for a hug after seeing the store’s wall of queer literature.
The development of third spaces includes the social club The Academy, which owner Nate Bourg sees as part of creating neighborhood landmarks, in addition to party hot spots.
The Castro has an opportunity to “become a more exceptional destination for queer people, not just resting on its laurels of what it’s always been,” he said. Part of that is making it a “more inclusive space” for folks across the spectrum.
Grace Huntley has been furiously preparing to reopen Lobby Bar in March with just that aim in mind. As a trans woman and lesbian, Huntley wants to create a space that feels like home to a wider swath of people amid the political forces at play in the country.
“Especially with the new administration, we need to be stronger,” she said. “We need to build up our power and our force, instead of being divided, which we often have been in the past.”
Queer Arts Featured, or Queer A.F., an art gallery and event space, opened in 2022 at the former site of Castro Camera, the store operated by Harvey Milk, which had been a social and political organizing center for the neighborhood.
The sidewalk in front of the store has a plaque that memorializes Milk, a civil rights hero who was the first openly gay man elected to public office in California.
Devlin Shand, co-founder and owner of Queer A.F., said his goal was to create a “living room” for the Castro that can again function as both sanctuary and organizing center. Queer A.F.’s tagline is both a descriptor and a mission statement: “A radically queer space in a very gay place.”
“I think that’s how we not only survive but thrive and move forward,” Shand said. “The way to carry on the legacy of the people that came before us is to create a space that can change and grow and evolve with who needs it.”