El Rio has Reopened for Food and To-Go Drinks

Photo via Jim S. on Yelp

This is such great news! El Rio holds a special place in so many peoples’ hearts.

It’s literally one of my favorite bars ever and I have so many wonderful memories from there. Not just for the epic election night parties, fabulous backyard discos, goofy karaoke, and grungy bands. It’s also where my fiancé and I had our first kiss and where we plan on having our wedding party. So this is great news indeed!

On Monday, Joe Kukura over at SFist reported that El Rio started serving to-go drinks and food this past weekend and that they will only be operating weekend hours (Fridays 4-8 p.m., Saturdays and Sundays 2-6 p.m.). It was announced on their social media last week.

From El Rio’s Instagram

As Kukura mentions in the article:

“But it’s worth the trip for any old-school El Rio fans who may no longer live in the bar’s immediate vicinity, as the establishment has been completely closed for the duration of the pandemic this far. A GoFundMe effort to support El Rio staff, a Human Rights Commission and Showtime business preservation grant, and a gift from the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Music Relief fund has been essentially their only income since March 2020.”

Since the law mandates that bars must sell food with booze now, El Rio has teamed up with Frisco Pink to serve tamales and El Rio Rolls (kinda like egg rolls). Check out the food and drink menu right here.

El Rio has also taken this significant down time to update a few things, including a lovely new mural by J. Manuel Carmona and Simon Malvae on the front of the building, and some sweet new merch were part of the proceeds go to support local organizations doing good work in the community.

You can learn more in the SFist article right here.