The ribbon cutting was fashionably late, but no one seemed anxious or in a rush. Other than the lack of drinks in hand, the vibe outside of Ginger’s was very similar to that of the bar downstairs.
San Francisco’s most festive gays were present, dressed for the part, and genuinely happy. It was all smiles, hugs, and kisses. What better weekend to hold the San Francisco Financial District’s only queer-identified bar’s Grand Reopening than on the Friday of Pride weekend?
After only being with Future Bars (Ginger’s parent company) for about 2 months, Dana Marinelli found out the Ginger’s was part of Future’s portfolio and asked if she could reopen the gay watering hole as General Manager — they said yes! Dana was ecstatic, and honored that Future Bars was placing this level of faith in her.
“Everyone feels a special way about Ginger’s. It has truly been, in all its iterations, a safe haven Downtown for the Queer Community, and it is my truest intention to honor this with care and grace,” says Dana. “I pitched reopening to Future Bars just 5 weeks ago. They had a lot of faith in me and greenlit me.”
After Ginger’s 4-year hiatus, Sisters Bubbles Bathory gave her blessing with about 100 people in attendance, dawning their most fabulous attire and rainbow fans. The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence gave a heartfelt speech about memories at the previous iterations of Ginger’s, when it was a “safe place in the FiDi neighborhood, otherwise filled with commerce, suits, and heterosexuals” — and the ribbon was cut.
As the crowd began its descent into the basement-level bar, everything went black. The power had gone out. I panicked as I thought of Dana. This is her baby. She’s been preparing for months for this and now a loose fuse has ruined it. But when I walked down the stairs, guided by my iPhone flashlight, I saw Dana and her loyal crew of Ginger’s staff and friends smiling, working diligently but with no signs of panic as they proactively looked for a solution. The bartenders were serving, and the patrons were vibing. Apparently a power outage isn’t a travesty to this group of people.
Electricity was restore 10 minutes later and the smiles erupted in cheers, more hugs, more kisses — and dancing. The darkness really does make the light shine brighter, I thought. But then I realized that I was actually standing in the way of a giant stage light. A tall handsome silver fox motioned for me to get out of the way.
He was Gooch — SF’s award-winning LGBTQ+ photographer and I was blocking his light. Gooch has provided many photospreads to The Bold Italic since its acquisition by GrowSF.
Miss Shugana floated onto the stage, into the light that I recently vacated, to host the night of drag show performances. She gave ample praise to each queen, introducing them glowingly. Her stage presence is warm, yet fierce. She was born for this. Everyone in attendance was in their element and, even though we just popped in and found a thriving party with amazing food and adorable drinks with rubber duckies, Dana has actually moved mountains to make this grand reopening happen in just 5 weeks, and it was a huge success.
Andrew de los Santos, a Bay Area influencer who was in attendance said that he’s been waiting for months for Ginger’s to reopen, “and it did not disappoint! Delicious jungle dogs, themed cocktails, and incredible drag performances. Couldn’t have thought of a better grand reopening!”
A series of lively drag performances took over the venue, commencing what is to be a full weekend of Pride festivities, celebrating the resurrection. Although regular hours are TBA, this Grand Reopening is the dawn of a new era, in which the fourth iteration of Ginger’s, going way back to the first location in 1978 in the Tenderloin, will try its hand in the moment of city-wide effort to revitalize San Francisco’s downtown.
Courtney Muro is a San Francisco-based content strategist, producer, designer, and creator. She took all photos for this story. Saul Sugarman contributed words.
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