Mezzanine Forced to Close, Replaced By Commercial Offices
In a sad and surprising turn of events, the largest, female-owned music venue in SF is being forced out by building owners and developers Colton Commercial & Partners Inc. The Mezzanine has been going strong in SF for the last 15 years, offering great programming by a rare and talented all-female booking staff (a rarity in the music industry which is often entrenched with a “boy’s club mentality”).
Like many of you, I’ve enjoyed shows at Mezzanine for years, whether it was great fundraising parties like the annual Beats for Boobs, or Artsy pop-ups like Opera Lab & Pancakes & booze, or the incredible bands and EDM artists that appeared there like Florence and the Machine and LCD Soundsystem. Mezzanine always had a nice program schedule, sound system, and…well, a great mezzanine area. Now they will be forced to close their doors in October of 2019.
DJ Shooey @ Beats for Boobs
When asked about being forced to close, Mezzanine’s owner, Deborah Jackman, expressed her sadness at not being given an opportunity to negotiate a new lease. “I was disappointed that the owners of the building didn’t give me an opportunity to renegotiate a new lease. I was further disappointed that my request for a three month extension, so that we could close out 2019 was rejected. What I find most disturbing is that Mezzanine, like so many other cultural institutions, has fallen victim to corporate greed and commercial development.” Jackman was hoping they could at least close their doors after they rang in the 2020 New Year so that the Mezzanine family and fans could receive closure for this unfortunate situation.
According to Mezzanine’s Marketing Director Chris Sanders, “The building owners are working with Colton Commercial & Partners Inc who are looking to replace the venue with commercial office space in hopes to maximize rent at a 600% increase. Their decision marks an all too familiar story for venues in the Bay Area that have been forced to close in recent years due to commercial development.”
It looks like the closure is inevitable so get over there and enjoy Mezzanine for the next 10 months while you still can!
A message from Mezzanine: “Alas, the show must go on! Mezzanine’s staff intends to make the most of their time left. This New Years is one of the venue’s most ambitious lines ups to date and will sadly also be their last. Additionally, a (bitter) Sweet 16 celebration is scheduled for April 2019 with numerous high profile shows planned that month. They encourage everyone who’s enjoyed Mezzanine’s events to come celebrate in the space for as long as they can.”
Posted by MEZZANINE on Tuesday, November 13, 2018
mezzaninesf.com
