https://sfist.com/2020/05/15/mikkeler-bar-closes-permanently-in-the-tenderloin/ Man... when the LA outpost closed, I thought the SF one would survive because it was always crowded. But then COVID-19 hit. They have a pretty huge space for SF standards, so I can't say I'm surprised... but another one bites the dust
I have mixed feelings about this. Whenever my wife and I stayed in SF, we often stayed in or near Market St, so this location was often in walking distance and the only decent beer place around. I was never particularly blown away by it and always found the prices to be just a little high (but, San Francisco...). That being said, this is a loss to the area and hope the employees land on their feet when the dust settles
Ohhh maaaan, this sucks. Great place. Pricey for sure. But great beer list, beers maintained at proper temperatures via fancy draft system. Good food, nice atmosphere. Was last there in February and loved it. Sad day.
pasting this from another thread. This place is one of the reasons why I name my fantasy teams "Market Street Pedestrians". A savvy person could figure out what rent for this spot would be. my post: Wow this place will forever hold a special place in my heart. It's where, after weeks of brainstorming names for my eponymous winery's name, the lightbulb went off, and in a true Silicon Valley moment, the last interations were written on the back of a Mikkeller beer coaster. It's also where I happened to randomly sit at the same table as a college housemate of mine who I hadn't seen in 10 years.
Except people actually attended Mikkeller SF. And they even hosted Zwanze Day a few years. No comparison.
As a Native, I never really cared about this place to begin with. The area in general regardless of the time of day was just horrible. The parking and traffic suck and everything goes downhill from there. However the place inside was nice, wouldn’t know without actually going inside, maybe that was the problem. However barely anyone that I know went here to begin with either so it’s not huge loss but sucks for the employees.
I don't claim to know their labor practices, so it seems like you have more information than I. That being said, it's not inconceivable that the managers hired to do day-to-day operations at SF vs. LA could potentially have run them differently. (As a side note, I didn't frequent Mikkeller SF, as it is on the pricier end. But within the last year, did go a few times with co-workers and enjoyed my experience - food, drink and service. Even had a Cantillon Geueze for a surprisingly decent price.)
Big bummer. I loved that place. The ambiance was excellent and I loved the selection of beers there. One time, I was flying up to SF and took at look at the website to see what was on tap. Lo and behold they were having a Cantillon night. I went straight from the airport to Mikellers and when I went in I witnessed the Cantillon taps permanently in the "on" position and just glass after glass being filled. It was awesome. Sorry to see this place go.
The area is pretty gross, but the lack of parking and bad traffic was not really an issue as anyone who goes to downtown SF (let alone a bar in downtown SF) should know better than to try to drive or find parking there. I’ll miss it. This was a fun place to go before a concert at the Warfield, Bill Graham Civic, or Mezzanine (also RIP to the latter, and to concerts in general for that matter.) Food menu was limited but good. Every time I went there it was very busy. Yea, a lot of expensive stuff but there were usually a couple great finds. For instance it was one of the few places where I’ve seen non-Death & Taxes Moonlight beers and these weren’t priced too badly.
Yeah, well I have a car and I drive everywhere. To eat drink shop downtown I take my car, however not often. After certain hours parking is free and I don’t leave anything in my car, literally nothing, when I park downtown. If it’s that bad of an area I just park in a garage which cost just as much as taking an Uber. So anyone that knows how downtown operates knows how and where to park. Unless you’re drinking bright and early, then yeah don’t take your car downtown.
Sad. I would usually go when working from our SF Office or in the Market Area for a show. Enjoyed the atmosphere and always had a good beer selection. However, the area is really bad so it was getting harder and harder to get my wife to visit. I guess that I will be spending more time at City Beer and Cellarmaker.
There's a pizza place about 3 blocks away on Market St. One time I took a walk from Mikkeller, to the pizza place, and back, and it felt like I survived a post apocalyptic scenario. After getting back to Mikkeller, I told someone in my group about it and they did the same thing and had the same reaction. SF is a city I love to visit, and after a half a day or so I can't wait to leave.
I grew up in the SF Bay Area and never understood the love for SF. When my parents took us to visit in the 70s, you had the hippies and naked people walking around. Not so much the homeless and trash/crap of today. I have grown more fond of the city as I have gotten older. Not to the point that I would like to live there, but I do like visiting. However, they really do need to look at cleaning up as it was starting to impact living and working experience.
Great place to grab a few beers in a real shithole of an area. Never fancy crossing the bridge to go to that part of the bay area. I will miss Mikkeller though.
