Image by Brett L. via Wikimedia Commons
A little over a decade ago my cousin, myself, and about 100 other people got to see Alt-J at Bottom of the Hill. It was their first US tour. The next time they came around they would headline the Fox Theater, and the time after that, they’d be top billing at The Greek Theater.
That is part of the magic of Botton of the Hill, one of San Francisco’s last independent venues. Seeing a band on their way up, that you just know will be huge, is what that venue has been known for for the past 35 years. Unfortunately, the venue is shuttering on Dec. 31, 2026.
Unlike so many other terrible closures over the past decade, this one isn’t due to greedy landlords; a couple of the venue’s proprietors are also the owners of the building. As Emma Silvers points out in this article on Coyote, it’s a combination of expenses, the changing demographics of San Francisco, and the fact that the owners, Ramona Downey, Kathleen Owen, and Lynn Schwarz, have other things they want to pursue.
The ladies of Bottom of the Hill made the following announcement on social media on Friday:
Bottom of the Hill is in its final revolution!
We make this announcement with great difficulty. Bottom of the Hill’s final year will be 2026, and our last day will be next New Year’s Eve. This legendary business will have lived to the ripe old age of 35, a long stretch in San Francisco for an independent rock ‘n’ roll venue of our size. It has been a wonderful trip, and we are full of stories and memories. We have hosted tens of thousands of musical artists and have been a community partner as well, holding numerous benefits, school recitals, weddings, birthdays, and memorials. Let’s have one more solid year of memories together and bid a fond farewell to a legendary venue.
We will curate one more year of great shows, enticing bands that make up our history to come back for one final play on our stage. Let’s celebrate, for one more spin, how far we came, how many bands we hosted, how many amazing people we worked with. We want to thank the bands, their agents, managers, and roadies, for always bringing the most exciting shows to our intimate room, with the analog board at the helm. And most especially, we wish to thank our loyal customers who kept us in business for this long and told us, in so many ways, that we were doing things right.
As the owners of Bottom of the Hill, we (Ramona Downey, Kathleen Owen, and Lynn Schwarz), are three women in different phases of our lives (and a sad RIP to Tim Benetti, our beloved fourth, whom we recently lost). Part of what has made our partnership so functional and wonderful are the perspectives of three strong women from different generations and backgrounds. We come together on so many issues but also bring our own unique life experiences to this business. Together we have nurtured Bottom of the Hill over the decades—it’s our child. We include in our family the incredible staff who are the ones who keep our business on the map. Several of our team have been with us for well over a decade and some the whole time, making this decision to shutter extra difficult.
We will miss you all so much after this one last star-studded year. 2026 is our big victory lap! Please come celebrate with us. Not with a whimper, but a bang!
Lynn (with the blessing and input of Kathleen and Ramona)
Maybe if we’re lucky another wonderful independent venue will move in and take its place.
