It\u2019s \u2018bottoms up\u2019 at more SF movie theaters, as the Board of Supervisors just social-lubricated the red tape around alcohol sales at movie houses. \u00a0<\/p>\n
San Francisco\u2019s answer to creating economic recovery these last few years seems to be to jst add more alcohol sales<\/a> to every event and get-together<\/a>. And you know what? It keeps on working<\/a>! <\/p>\n So District 2 Supervisor Stephen Sherrill followed suit this past November, and proposed relaxing the rules so that more SF movie theaters could sell beer and wine<\/a> at their concession stands. And on Tuesday, the SF Board of Supervisors unanimously passed the new rules giving more theaters permission to sell beer and wine. \u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cMovie theaters have been threatened by shifting streaming habits, the pandemic, and more,\u201d Sherrill when introducing his legislation. \u201cThe theaters who\u2019ve been hit hardest by these tough economic conditions are the small, single-screen historic theaters.”<\/p>\n \u201cServing beer and wine at theaters is good for the bottom line, it\u2019s good for their long-term health and sustainability as businesses,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n The way things stand now, the SF Planning Code holds theaters to a \u201crevenue test\u201d that demands a venue make a minimum of its gross sales on food. That holds movie theaters to the same standard as restaurants, and unrealistic threshold for theaters that hop to sell beer and wine.<\/p>\n \u201cRegardless how much we charge for extra butter, no amount of popcorn is going to make 51% of their revenue,\u201d Sherrill said.<\/p>\n Sherrill\u2019s new legislation related rules on all movie theaters in San Francisco. But the legislation is clearly tailored to the soon-to-reopen Clay Theater<\/a> in his district. The legislation even contains a line delineating that \u201ccertain Movie Theaters in the Upper Fillmore Neighborhood Commercial District [can] sell wine and\/or beer without being subject to non-residential use size limits otherwise applicable in the District,\u201d which seems to clearly single out the Clay.<\/p>\n The Clay, of course, shuttered just before the pandemic, and is currently in the reopening process as part of billionaire Neil Mehta\u2019s Upper Fillmore Revitalization Project<\/a>. And yes, maybe some favoritism was applied that Sherrill chose to single out the Clay for certain benefits \u00a0in ths legislation.<\/p>\n But this is the kind of favoritism that most of us can get behind. After all, San Francisco film lovers would be over the moon to see the venerable and historic Clay Theater open again, ad we\u2019re all for anything that can hel facilitate that happening. \u00a0 <\/p>\n Related: Sup. Sherrill Wants to Make It Easier for Movie Theaters to Serve Booze [SFist]<\/a><\/p>\n