Between tours with his band M.U.T.T., he got evicted. Spanyol offered the green room atop the bar, and he lived there well into COVID.
“I have spent so much time there, I mean, it was literally like my living room,” Plitt said. “I’d wake up, go downstairs and the regulars are all there trying to get me a shot of tequila and I’m like, I just need a coffee.”
Matt Walker of M.U.T.T. sings into a microphone while playing guitar during a performance at Thee Parkside on March 6, 2025, in San Francisco. (Gustavo Hernandez/KQED)
Plitt and senior colleague Max Wickham recently got tattoos of Spanyol’s name. Inspired by a former coworker who would tag “Malia” inside and outside the bar, they snapped a picture and thought it felt right to get her name permanently inked.
“The core [of Thee Parkside] has always been the same,” Wickham said. “Malia has owned the bar for close to 20 years, and you can’t own a place that long without it becoming an extension of yourself. … It was a place where people could be — it sounds so cheesy — but a place where people could be themselves.”
Plitt and Wickham emphasize that the community at Thee Parkside — the punks, burners, hippies, techies and businesspeople alike — couldn’t exist without Spanyol’s efforts of inclusivity and acceptance. Some of the staff even call her “mom.”
Shane Plitt (left) and Max Wickham show their tattoos honoring Malia Spanyol, owner of Thee Parkside, on March 6, 2025, in San Francisco. (Gustavo Hernandez/KQED)
“It really represents a safe haven for any creative person,” Plitt said. “Somebody’s down, bad on their luck, went to jail, got out of jail, can’t find a job — you are welcome.”
Since announcing Thee Parkside will be closing sometime this year, community response has been equal parts frustration and disbelief. But there’s also a silver lining: an outpouring of support. Plitt noted that the bar has been as busy as it was before the pandemic, a sign of the community coming together for some of its final nights.