Jesse Borrego Y Tribu performs at the Bonham Exchange Friday, July 31, 2026, in San Antonio. The Bonham closed its doors to the public at midnight Friday to install a new fire-suppression system throughout the building.
Alma E. Hernandez/For the San Antonio Express-News
Herbie Martinez, left, makes a drink for Tristin Betancourt at one of the Bonham’s bars, Friday, July 31, 2026, in San Antonio. The Bonham will close for four to five months to make necessary fire sprinkler upgrades.
Alma E. Hernandez/For the San Antonio Express-News
DJ Mess performs at one of the Bonham Exchange’s dance floors Friday, July 31, 2026, in San Antonio. The Bonham will close for four to five months to make necessary fire sprinkler upgrades.
Alma E. Hernandez/For the San Antonio Express-News
Esteban Luna, left, and Clinton Roberts enjoy their drinks at one of the Bonham’s bars, Friday, July 31, 2026, in San Antonio. The Bonham will close for four to five months to make necessary fire sprinkler upgrades.
Alma E. Hernandez/For the San Antonio Express-News
Josue Rocha, left, and Billy Martinez play pool at one of the Bonham’s bars, Friday, July 31, 2026, in San Antonio. The Bonham will close for four to five months to make necessary fire sprinkler upgrades.
Alma E. Hernandez/For the San Antonio Express-News
Clubgoers dance on one of the Bonham’s dance floors, Friday, July 31, 2026, in San Antonio. The club closed its doors to the public at 12:01 a.m. Saturday to install a new fire-suppression system throughout the building
Alma E. Hernandez/For the San Antonio Express-News
The Bonham Exchange brims with memories of firsts: the first time she went clubbing, the first time he crossdressed, the first time they wore heels, the first time she DJed.
But as patrons across generations shared their memories — their voices raised so they could be heard over the bumping music — some feared Friday night could be their last memory at the historic San Antonio LGBTQ+ nightclub.
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“This is always the spot we ended up. It was always the best time,” said Eric Sinovic, 36. “It would feel wrong for it to go out of business and me not be here.”
The downtown San Antonio nightclub, which opened in 1981, failed to meet the city’s Saturday deadline to install fire sprinkler systems in its historic building. Its doors closed at 12:01 a.m. Saturday, two hours earlier than usual, marking the start of its prolonged closure. That didn’t deter around 30 people, including Sinovic, from lining up and waiting to enter at 11 p.m.
Bonham declared on an Instagram post that it was here to stay, but would be closed for four to five months while undergoing work. It will be “beauty sleep” for the nightclub, said Teddy Romero, its social media manager, as it installs a new fire-suppression system, sound system, and new flooring in the ballroom during the hiatus.
“We’ve been so occupied with being there for everybody else that the Bonham has not had the time to maintain itself,” said Charlie Lozano, who works at the club as a barback but was there as a patron on Friday night.
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Lozano describes the Bonham as a place where all are accepted and intolerance is intolerable. Lozano still remembers his first night at the Bonham, and how the nightclub offered him the space to grow.
Clubgoers dance on one of the Bonham’s dance floors, Friday, July 31, 2026, in San Antonio. The Bonham closed its doors to the public at 12:01 a.m. Saturday to install a new fire-suppression system throughout the building.
Alma E. Hernandez/For the San Antonio Express-News
“I never had worn heels before, so I was already stumbling,” Lozano said. He fell down the stairs and slid down a few steps before pushing himself back up on his heels.
“Guess what? They gave me the grace to let me dance like a fool instead of anybody trying to penalize or scrutinize or do anything other than just literally accept that: ‘She’s learning something,’” Lozano said.
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For “Hot Henrietta” Hernandez, who last November was inducted into the Texas Radio Hall of Fame, it was one of the first places she DJed.
“I grew up here. This was my club,” Hernandez said, recalling packed Friday nights with live sets and hosting wet T-shirt contests on Wednesdays.
Hernandez emphasized the generational pull that the club has, evident from the patrons’ wide range of ages. When she describes its welcoming nature and how pivotal it has been for the local music scene, she tears up.
“There’s really no big club here in San Antonio that appeals to all demographics — whether you’re gay, straight, bi,” Hernandez said. “Whatever you are, you are free to be who you are here.”
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The importance of preserving those spaces for the queer community is heightened by the heated political climate, Romero said.
The nightclub, which is open to people at least 18 years old, is where Romero first began experimenting with how they presented. Nobody at the Bonham would bat an eye at how they expressed themself. That is an experience that is particularly valuable to queer youth.
“They don’t have to worry about being in Texas as a red state or having the right-wing agenda pushed upon them at such a young age,” said Romero, 27. “They don’t have to wait until they’re 21 to come be with people that they also feel like and understand.”
It’s a place that straight people have enjoyed over the years, too, like 62-year-old James Keith, who used to work as a DJ and a doorman for the nightclub. When he started going in 1986, the windows weren’t covered up. On a Wednesday night, the line would run four blocks down.
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His twin brother said in the 90s, he loved to dance to the music. But now that he’s older, he just kicks back and listens. The nightclub has changed alongside him throughout the years, adding fans and lights. It used to be so dark, he said, “that you could get away with a lot of stuff.”
Patrons at the Bonham Exchange enjoy a performance by Jesse Borrego Y Tribu, Friday, July 31, 2026, in San Antonio. The Bonham closed its doors to the public at midnight Friday to install a new fire-suppression system throughout the building.
Alma E. Hernandez/For the San Antonio Express-News
He blamed the closure for repairs on its owners: “It’s their problem that they were slow moving and not getting it fixed.”
Without a sprinkler system, the club was ordered to operate at an occupancy limit of 300. Across the nightclub’s many rooms, dozens of people were dispersed, dancing to mixes of Madonna’s “Vogue” or “Low” by Flo Rida.
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It was a sparse crowd on Friday compared to how many longtime patrons remember it, when multiple floors were open and hundreds packed the dance floor.
In social media posts, the Bonham said it plans to open later this year at full capacity.
Until then, bartender Herbie Martinez said he will be sad to not work at his “second home” over the next few months. While Martinez, who has worked at the nightclub for three years, has other jobs, he said his managers, coworkers and patrons are all like family.
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“They love us, we love them. We’re going to miss them,” Martinez said. “Just be patient. The months will fly by and before you know it, we’ll be here again.”