ROCK BAR TRASHED
It’s a sad state of affairs when news of a gathering space in San Francisco getting ransacked by thieves in the night keeps popping up. On Tuesday, July 23, Mission District dive bar treasure Rock Bar was broken into, looted, and trashed.
It’s a tough blow for the bar, its employees and not just patrons in the Mission, but also those in the Bernal Heights and Noe Valley communities that Rock Bar is a regular stop for.
Per a GoFundMe set up to benefit the bar, Rock Bar sustained “close to $15,000” in damage and losses. “The thieves broke the front door to gain entry, stole the cash register, cash box, safe, several bottles of expensive liquor and the recording device for the cameras. Of course, they also trashed the bar…” the GoFundMe reads. Super lame behavior.
Thankfully, no Rock Bar employees or patrons were harmed during the robbery, as the bar had closed for the night at the time when the robbery occurred at around 2:58 am on the evening of the 23rd. But it’s the utter violation of the space that clearly hits home for regulars, staff, and anyone who lives in the vicinity.
You see, what makes Rock Bar such a crucial open-armed dive, is how it manages to cater to members of vastly different neighborhoods, all a short walk away. Whether you’re in the Mission, Bernal, Noe, or even popping in from another part of town, Rock Bar is a very welcome place for a drink and a good time.
It’s the type of bar where you can get a cheap beer, a nice beer, an elevated cocktail, or a cheeky shot on any given night. It also provides a platform for local DJs spinning records on the regular, has a legendary pool table where both friends are made and foes are heckled in good fun. And it also acts as a sister business to the glorious Southern comfort food of Front Porch across the street, where you can always order fried chicken and mac and cheese to eat at the bar.
If you have the means, we encourage you to donate to Rock Bar’s GoFundMe campaign to help them recoup some of the losses suffered from this break-in, where the goal is pushing past the 50% mark as of press time. Most importantly, stop in to the bar to have a drink, play some Galaga, watch sports, or whatever else it is that strikes your fancy. Rock Bar might’ve suffered a setback, but it’s very much still going strong in spite of it and is always ready to welcome regulars and new friends alike. (Adrian Spinelli)
OASIS HELD UP
On July 18 at 5:11am, masked gun-wielders entered queer cabaret hotspot Oasis in SoMa and held up the cleaning crew, stealing their wallets and jewelry.
Oasis is an incredibly welcoming and important space for LGBTQ folks, hosting countless drag shows, riotous plays, community fundraisers, diverse dance parties, and important memorials. The shock of the nightclub’s violation was compounded by the attack on its morning crew.
“Early Thursday morning, 4 armed gunman broke into and robbed Oasis,” the club says on a GoFundMe page set up to help recovery. “It was bad enough that they broke a number of doors and trashed the place, but what is even more disturbing is that they robbed our cleaning crew at gunpoint. We are grateful everyone was unharmed, and that more damage wasn’t done to our crew or our venue. But we do want to help our crew, some of who’s wallets and phones were stolen, replace their belongings and make the urgent and necessary repairs to our space, as well as some additional security measures.”
According to the Chronicle: “[Oasis owner D’Arcy] Drollinger said the intruders ransacked the club’s office, breaking internet equipment and raiding the bar’s inventory in the basement where they drank tequila and Red Bull before leaving.
‘Because the alarm wasn’t set because the cleaning crew was in there working, the alarm didn’t go off,’ Drollinger said, but another Oasis employee who noticed the disturbance on a camera at home called the police.”
Although Oasis’ fundraiser has exceeded its goal, as a club owner myself I know these costs can snowball as things are gradually repaired and all losses accounted for, so please continue to donate if you can. (Marke B.)
