The Center, a self-described “magical tea house” and events hub in the Lower Haight, will shut its doors for good on June 22.
“I know this news is difficult, and I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for being part of this journey,” wrote co-founder and CEO Zack Wexler-Beron in a message to the venue’s facilitators on Monday evening. “You’ve changed lives here — and I hope you know that.”
He also sent a message to The Center’s email list later that evening, announcing the closure to the wider public. All events scheduled after Sunday evening will be cancelled and fully refunded, he wrote, and The Center will be hosting a garage sale on June 23.
For years, the venue has functioned as a gathering place for techies, artists, and spiritual practitioners alike thanks to its wide variety of classes and events, including yoga, breathwork, ecstatic dance, open-mic nights, and discussions on topics like nonmonogamy and “authentic relating.”
With dozens of volunteers providing tea service outside of scheduled activities, the facility tucked in an alley at 548 Fillmore St. also became a “third space” for people to socialize and build community. It was a quintessentially SF venue, where visitors could bond over Burning Man experiences, creative struggles, or their wellness rituals.
Leaders at Decentered Arts, which has hosted over 200 weekly open-mic events there over the past four years, say they’ll mourn the The Center.
“It’s very sad to see a space that supported the arts and so many different individuals and facilitators close down,” said Rhea Joseph, while Ben Draffin described The Center as a “really special” hub for creativity and community.
“Over the years, The Center has become a sacred container for healing, growth, and transformation — and that is because of you,” Wexler-Beron wrote to facilitators, including the Decentered team. “You brought magic into this space and invited others to come alive.”
But the past year has brought a wave of hurdles for The Center. Last spring, the space stopped selling tea and other snacks and drinks after clashing with the city for operating without the proper permits. Getting up to code would have required costly renovations, the venue’s leadership told The Standard at the time. Soon after, The Center launched a membership program that offered daily or monthly passes for anyone who wanted to hang out there outside of events. (Memberships will be refunded as part of the closing as well.)
Meanwhile, two of The Center’s other founders, Anwen Baumeister and Danny Kaufman, stepped away from the space to launch a more upscale members club, The Portal, in Marin, leaving Wexler-Beron in charge.
Most recently, former tenants of The Center’s intentional living community were forced to move out because of disagreements between residents, the landlord, and Wexler-Beron over the relationship between the building’s housing community and The Center tea house. The community had previously hosted 25 tenants, who also threw their own parties and events.
The CEO hinted that he may try to revive the venue in another location or different iteration.
“I truly believe in the importance of spaces like The Center — places where people can gather, grow, and be transformed,” Wexler-Beron wrote in his closing message. “This may be the end of this iteration, but it’s not the end of the vision. Something new will come.”
This is a developing news story and will be updated.