Entertainment Zones Revitalize SF

One of the best things to happen in San Francisco over the past few years is the explosion of street life. From the Richmond to the Sunset to the Castro to downtown, we’re seeing a renaissance of people coming together on our streets to build community and just enjoy themselves.

One of the tools San Francisco is using to build this revived street life is a new idea called “entertainment zones,” where people can buy drinks in local bars and restaurants and consume them on the streets. This activity was illegal for nearly a century in California, until I authored and passed a law (SB-76, expanded by SB-969) to make it legal if a city chooses to opt in.

When I introduced the legislation, I wasn’t sure how much support it would garner, but it quickly caught on fire, with cities up and down the state coming on in support and with the bill passing the Legislature almost unanimously, with broad bipartisan support.

San Francisco is taking full advantage of the new flexibility it has under the Entertainment Zone law, and other cities are quickly catching up.

Before we changed the law, cities were allowed to close streets for street festivals and could bring in outside vendors to sell beer on the street. But local bars and restaurants were effectively shut out, since state liquor laws categorically prohibited them from selling drinks onto the street. Imagine the frustration of owning a brick-and-mortar bar or restaurant – with all the challenges these businesses face – and watching as people gathered but couldn’t buy a drink from you. Yet, that was the law.

Now that we’ve changed the law, cities have local flexibility to create (or not create – it’s an optional program) one or more entertainment zones where local businesses can sell drinks onto the street. Cities can designate whichever geographies they would like and designate the zones as every day, on weekends, one day a week, special events or whatever other structure they prefer. It’s pure local control. There are various guardrails in creating these zones, including required public process, consultation with local police and adoption of an ordinance by the Board of Supervisors. Requirements are in place to ensure drinks are only sold to people 21 and older and to avoid bringing glass onto the street. Bars and restaurants must stop serving whenever their liquor license says they must stop.

Last year, San Francisco celebrated Oktoberfest on Front Street – California’s very first designated entertainment zone! Three local businesses – Schroeder’s, Harrington’s Bar and Grill and Royal Exchange – hosted the inaugural street party, and it exceeded their expectations. About 10,000 people crowded into the zone carrying beer steins and wearing lederhosen while competing in yodeling contests. The hosting businesses doubled their revenue from Oktoberfest celebrations in previous years, and one business saw a 1,500% increase in sales from a typical weekday.

Several more entertainment zones have since been established in downtown, clustered around Yerba Buena Lane, Annie Plaza and the Mid-Market area. But zones are also being created in neighborhoods such as Cole Valley, the Castro and the Mission. To date, 22 established or pending entertainment zones are in the works to bring communities back to the streets for creative programming and nightlife, combined with support for local small businesses.

An outcome of these new entertainment zones is how events are being synchronized across the city. On July 31, the Yerba Buena Entertainment Zone hosted “A Grateful Gathering,” an activation celebrating the 60th anniversary of the legendary San Francisco band, the Grateful Dead. Live music and psychedelic art inspired by the group kicked off a weekend-long concert in Golden Gate Park where surviving band members relived the Summer of Love.

Entertainment zones are also enhancing existing programs that drive people to local merchants. The community-led event, SOMA Nights, is a monthly art and food crawl that was launched to benefit the vibrant businesses around Folsom Street. Since 2024, when the Folsom-Howard Streetscape Project started, sales have suffered. The $54 million infrastructure project is vital to the area bringing critical improvements to outdated utility systems, but local business has been disrupted. The hope is for the recently designated Folsom Street Entertainment Zones to augment the SOMA Nights events to sustain the local merchants until the project is completed.

Earlier this year, to further revitalize downtown, I introduced SB-395, in partnership with Mayor Daniel Lurie, to authorize the Board of Supervisors to create San Francisco’s downtown hospitality zone. California law currently caps the total number of liquor licenses available to restaurants, and SB-395 will create a new license type to be issued inside the downtown hospitality zone. By allowing new restaurants, complete with full-service bars, San Francisco’s new hospitality zone will revitalize downtown by attracting people and diversifying the neighborhood’s offerings.

Locally owned businesses are critical to San Francisco’s strong recovery, and my hope is that you will join me in supporting our City’s eclectic and vibrant nightlife scene. Visit sf.gov/departments–san-francisco-entertainment-zones to learn more about entertainment zones. I look forward to seeing you out in the community.

Scott Wiener represents San Francisco and northern San Mateo County in the California State Senate. He chairs the Senate Budget Committee and co-chairs the California Legislative Jewish Caucus. He previously chaired the Senate Housing Committee and the California Legislative LGBTQ Caucus. He can be reached at 415-557-1300 and https://sd11.senate.ca.gov/contact.