Eli’s Mile High Club, the famed bar and music venue known for its blues nights and live shows, is closing its doors at the end of October. 

“We will be working hard to reopen, but your continuous support would help us keep going,” read the announcement on social media, posted on Wednesday, Sept. 16.

The reason why the bar is closing isn’t clear. But in the same post, the bar’s management appealed to people to contact the City Council and mayor’s office. Eli’s has had trouble with permitting issues related to its patio for several years.

The historic North Oakland venue, opened in 1974 by Eli Thornton, served as the home for West Coast blues music scene after other venues in West Oakland shuttered, giving way to the construction of BART, the 7th Street post office, I-980, and other disruptive urban renewal projects.

Wilbert “Cowboy” Freeman McAlister, the former president of the Oakland Black Cowboys Association, has been a staple at blues nights, often performing his band, Cowboy and His Sometimes Blues.  

The legendary venue had a string of controversies. In 1979, Eli Thornton was shot and killed while working behind the bar by his girlfriend Frankie Williams. The venue went through various ownership changes throughout the decades, even shutting down from 2008 to 2011. 

In 2016, Eli’s was bought by a new ownership group that included Matt Patane, who continues to be the primary owner.

Patane did not respond to a request for more information. The City of Oakland also did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The patio at Eli’s Mile High Club in Oakland. Credit: Sarah Han/East Bay NOSH

In 2021, Eli’s made headlines for being one of the first bars to require proof of COVID vaccination to get into the bar’s back patio. 

That same patio got the venue in trouble when a nearby neighbor began filing complaints in 2022, according to public records. In 2024, the city forced Eli’s to shutter the patio due to lack of proper permitting.

Patane has been trying to reopen the patio since then. In March of 2025, Patane told KQED that the venue was looking for “any pro bono legal aid” willing to help. He also launched a $150,000 GoFundMe to help pay for “zoning, permitting, and the restructure of the patio according to the city request.” As of today, the campaign has raised $77,000. 

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