Patrons were greeted with locked doors on Sunday as the Eagle Tavern finally shut down after months of drama. “Out on the back porch Saturday afternoon, the final-day crowd was in a nostalgic mood,” reported the San Francisco Examiner. “Final pictures and videos were being captured and chalked messages on the walls said things like, ‘I broke my jaw here in 1993,’ and ‘I left my heart at the Eagle.’”
It marks the end of a month that saw a flurry of nostalgic Eagle pieces and a concerted effort from the community to try to keep it open, Paolo Lucchesi reported on SF Gate’s “Inside Scoop.” “Alas, though there’s a possibility of rebirth down the line, SoMa’s 30-year-old gay bar is now closed,” he wrote.
In what is probably the definitive word, the Bay Area Reporter reported today that John Gardiner and Joe Banks, the owners of the bar itself, appear to have rejected bids to buy it. “It appears the Eagle has experienced financial difficulties for some time.”
According to the unlawful detainer complaint filed in San Francisco Superior Court on April 19, Gardiner and Banks, who own the liquor license, owe $17,767 in rent on the bar, Seth Hemmelgarn reported. Mark Frazier, who owns the Dallas Eagle in Texas, said that he and Ron Hennis, who managed the San Francisco Eagle, made an offer to owners John Gardiner and Joseph Banks Tuesday night to buy the business. He said he had told them in the offer letter that they had until 9 p.m. Pacific time Tuesday to respond, which they didn’t. He’s assuming that means they rejected the offer.
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