Historic East Bay institution Eli\u2019s Mile High Club is set to close indefinitely. During the performances of hundreds of bands the bar has hosted, crowds often poured into the venue\u2019s famous back patio \u2014 now part of a convoluted legal dispute.<\/p>\n
Since Eli\u2019s opened on Martin Luther King Jr. Way in 1974, it has weathered a number of setbacks and a changing neighborhood, with tags, stickers, as well as regulars who recall its early days to memorialize its long history.<\/p>\n
A bullet hole used to adorn the wall before being covered with artwork, according to Bill MacBeath, who first came for the bar\u2019s longstanding blues shows in the \u201980s. Back then, he said, it was one of many blues bars in the area.<\/p>\n
An East Bay Express newspaper clipping \u2014 \u201cThe Ballad of Frankie and Eli\u201d \u2014 on the wall may tell the story of this bullet hole: The bar\u2019s founder, Eli Thornton, was murdered by his \u201cformer lover\u201d Frankie Williams in the bar.<\/p>\n
Despite its impending closure, Eli\u2019s owner, Matthew Patane, has emphasized their goal to reopen after they \u201chandle what needs do\u2019n,\u201d according to an Instagram post.<\/p>\n
Eli\u2019s has long outlived its original owner, and now, as it faces its latest challenge, a community of regulars, newcomers, students and bands are rallying to support one of Oakland\u2019s last remaining blues bars.<\/p>\n
The bar\u2019s backdoor neighbor, Greg Barron, sued Eli\u2019s in 2025 for allegedly causing flooding in his property, amounting to an alleged $166,960 in property damage.<\/p>\n
Issues with the bar\u2019s patio go back to 2024. The city of Oakland told SFGATE that the patio was closed for \u201csafety and encroachment issues.\u201d<\/p>\n
A bartender and patrons said the closure was a difficult loss for the bar and its large crowds.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is one spot where you could have a drag show, a blues night on Mondays with elders and incredible music \u2026 punk and metal, and then everyone can be in the backyard,\u201d said bassist and producer Akiyoshi Ehara.<\/p>\n
For Ehara\u2019s Bay Area band The Seshen \u2014 which gathered at Eli\u2019s to \u201cpay respects\u201d to one of its favorite venues \u2014 this watering hole is one of the few such places remaining.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a place where real Bay people can come and be comfortable,\u201d said Ehara\u2019s friend Juju.<\/p>\n
Echoing their remarks, Alicia Walters said Eli\u2019s is \u201cone of the last holdouts\u201d in a long line of bars and venues in the area that have shuttered, going as far back as the construction of I-980, which cut through the area and broke up the \u201cHarlem of the West.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a meeting place for I think what the ground floor of Oakland actually feels like in a lot of ways,\u201d Ehara said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a true mixing ground,\u201d chimed in percussionist Mirza Kopelman.<\/p>\n
That mixing ground includes generations of Eli\u2019s fans, including UC Berkeley students, who mostly frequent Eli\u2019s on Monday nights for blues.<\/p>\n
Regular Nick Platz recalled meeting many friends and partners at this treasured spot and said he made a donation to the bar\u2019s growing GoFundMe, in exchange for one of the bar\u2019s napkin holders covered in stickers.<\/p>\n
Platz said he took the napkin holder in lieu of dancing on the bar, which Eli\u2019s offered on Instagram for anyone who donated $100.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo many outrageous nights started here,\u201d Platz said.<\/p>\n
The fundraiser has garnered the support of more than 1,400 donors, raising more than $90,000 since March 2026. According to Patane\u2019s GoFundMe description, the funds will serve \u201cto get through zoning, permitting, and the restructure of the patio according to the city request.\u201d<\/p>\n
The case is scheduled for case management and settlement conferences in January 2027, after which it could proceed to a jury trial.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf this place goes down, it\u2019s another in a long stream of the history of well-visited community arts places where all kinds of music that are rooted in Oakland, and particularly Black music in the community, gets completely demolished,\u201d Walters said.<\/p>\n
Mahesh Rao, keyboard and synth player for The Seshen, reminisced about a growing list of local music venues that have closed in the past decade \u201cto the detriment of the community\u201d and in favor of competing development interests.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re just in a dive bar right now, just having some drinks, and it means a lot more than that,\u201d Rao said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Historic East Bay institution Eli\u2019s Mile High Club is set to close indefinitely. During the performances of hundreds…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":471308,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[185272,185273,183590,18248,185271,185276,19666,185270,185275,185274,143,145,144,675,185269],"class_list":["post-471307","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-oakland","tag-akiyoshi-ehara","tag-alicia-walters","tag-elis-mile-high-club","tag-gofundme","tag-greg-barron","tag-mahesh-rao","tag-martin-luther-king-jr-way","tag-matthew-patane","tag-mirza-kopelman","tag-nick-platz","tag-oakland","tag-oakland-headlines","tag-oakland-news","tag-sfgate","tag-the-seshen"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/471307","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=471307"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/471307\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/471308"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=471307"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=471307"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=471307"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}