<\/p>\n
A clubgoer dances at Bonham Exchange on April 10, 2026.<\/p>\n
Isaiah Moseley\/Contributor<\/p>\n
Bonham Exchange on April 10, 2026.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Isaiah Moseley\/Contributor<\/p>\n
The\u00a0Bonham Exchange<\/a> wants more time to install legally required fire sprinklers after\u00a0Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones backtracked<\/a> on her promise to help the iconic gay nightclub raise money for the safety equipment.\u00a0<\/p>\n If the city doesn\u2019t extend the\u00a0Aug. 1 deadline, the\u00a0Bonham Exchange will lose its certificate of occupancy \u2014 which all businesses are required to have \u2014 and be forced to shut its doors.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n In 2018, the city ordered restaurants and clubs with occupancy limits of 300 people or more to install sprinkler systems. The\u00a0Bonham Exchange and several other clubs had yet to comply<\/a> when the city started cracking down earlier this year.<\/p>\n The club\u2019s manager, Joan Duckworth, signed an agreement with the city in February promising to install sprinklers on the first floor of the club within six months \u2014 that is, by Aug. 1. In exchange, the city would let the club continue operating, but with a lower occupancy cap of under 300 people instead of the usual 686.\u00a0<\/p>\n The occupancy cap would have increased to 343 people in August if the first-floor sprinklers had been installed and inspected \u00a0by the San Antonio Fire Department and Development Services Department. The club\u2019s agreement with the city gave owners one year to finish installing sprinklers on the second floor, but prohibited use of that level until the installation was completed and OK\u2019d by the city.<\/p>\n Duckworth has said she signed the agreement at Jones’ urging because the mayor had promised to raise the $550,000 for a sprinkler system by the end of March. That money never came through, Bonham Exchange attorney\u00a0R. Javier Guerra said.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Before Jones’ pledge, Duckworth had been reluctant to sign because she worried the new occupancy restrictions would cut deeply into the club\u2019s revenue, potentially forcing it out of business.<\/p>\n Guerra said the club won\u2019t be able to meet the August\u00a0deadline, but in the past week was able to secure a loan and is signing an agreement with a contractor to install the sprinklers. He said the contractor estimates that completing both floors will take five months.\u00a0<\/p>\n This week, Guerra requested an extension through the City Attorney\u2019s office.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re hoping for some grace from the city given that we\u2019re in good faith, we\u2019ve got a reputable contractor doing it and we\u2019d really like to stay open while we put the sprinklers in,\u201d Guerra said. \u201cWe haven\u2019t been wasting time.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n After Jones failed to raise $550,000 for the Bonham Exchange within 45 days, as Guerra and Duckworth said she had promised to do, the nightclub tried to raise the money. The club hosted a fundraising event in May and was a beneficiary of the Pride Bigger Than Texas Festival and Parade, which divvies out money to local organizations. But\u00a0Guerra said the club’s owners couldn\u2019t scrape together much money.<\/p>\n Guerra said they’ve been trying to secure a loan for a couple of months.\u00a0<\/p>\n Development Services Director Amin Tohmaz said Wednesday that he had yet to review the Bonham Exchange’s request and could not comment on whether the city would grant an extension.\u00a0<\/p>\n His department, which issues certificates of occupancy, worked alongside the fire department early this year to hammer out so-called \u201ccompliance agreements\u201d with bars that had not installed fire sprinklers so that they could continue operating with lower occupancies and increased fire safety requirements.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Even if the Bonham Exchange doesn\u2019t get the extension and has to close while it installs sprinklers, Guerra said the closure wouldn\u2019t be permanent. The club would work to get a new certificate of occupancy after it installs the sprinkler system.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Bonham is not going away,\u201d Guerra said.<\/p>\n Guerra said he doesn’t know why Jones didn\u2019t raise the money she’d pledged.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cSo did it slow us down a little bit\u00a0\u2014 possibly,\u201d Guerra said. \u201cBut all this stuff takes time. It would be nice if we had gotten money from the mayor, but it didn\u2019t work out that way and we\u2019ve been able to fix it on our own.\u201d<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Falling behind\u00a0<\/p>\n Instead of helping the nightclub raise money for a sprinkler\u00a0system, Jones introduced Duckworth to Bryant Ambelang, CEO of Pearl development firm Silver Ventures, to discuss how to potentially shore up the club\u2019s finances and ensure its future.\u00a0<\/p>\n At an April 1 meeting, Ambelang pitched the idea of generating more revenue by leasing sections of the three-story, 25,000-square-ft. building to other businesses, including bar operators, or turning part of it into an indoor market with rentable spaces for artisans.\u00a0<\/p>\n Duckworth rejected all the proposals.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n \u201cThe mayor kept her promise to the Bonham Exchange by arranging for them to receive several potential business solutions, not only to install the legally required sprinkler systems the Bonham has needed, but options that would also put the Bonham on a path to become financially sustainable and open for the long-term,\u201d acting chief of staff Andrew Fuentes said. \u201cThe mayor understands the\u00a0Bonham chose not to explore those potential business solutions further and respects their decision.\u201d<\/p>\n The day Duckworth signed a compliance agreement, Jones told reporters<\/a> that she planned to raise money for the Bonham Exchange by tapping potential donors. She didn’t mention pitching the\u00a0Bonham on new business models.\u00a0<\/p>\n Like the Bonham, Industry Nightclub, Heat Nightclub, Nuevo Volcan, Club 727, I-10 Icehouse and the Paper Tiger didn\u2019t have sprinkler systems as of late January. They also signed compliance agreements with the city pledging to make upgrades and reduce their occupancy limits in the meantime.\u00a0<\/p>\n The Heat and Industry were allowed to return to normal operations in April. Club 727, Paper Tiger,\u00a0Nuevo Volcan and I-10 Icehouse are all in various stages of installing their sprinkler systems, their deadlines spread throughout August, according to a July 2 memo from Assistant City Manager John\u00a0Peterek to City Manager Erik Walsh.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n The city granted an extension to Nuevo Volcan. It was slated to be close by May 4 if it didn\u2019t install sprinklers, but Peterek noted that the club was granted more time because it \u201chas been showing progress in the permit activity and construction.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n The Bonham Exchange, however, was the only club in the group that Peterek noted that hadn’t made any progress on securing permits for its sprinkler system.<\/p>\n The aftermath<\/p>\n Jones had her most intense falling-out with City Council colleagues in the days after the Bonham Exchange signed its compliance agreement \u2014 resulting in all but two of the 10 council members\u00a0voting on Feb. 27 to censure Jones<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n The morning Duckworth signed the agreement, Jones shouted and cursed at Councilwoman Sukh Kaur over the issue in a private room near the City Council dais. Kaur\u00a0\u2014 who\u2019d been working with Bonham Exchange owners on a compromise months before Jones got involved\u00a0\u2014 filed a formal complaint about the incident, prompting a third-party investigation.\u00a0<\/p>\n A New Braunfels attorney hired by the city found that Jones violated the City Council\u2019s Code of Conduct and city administrative directives regarding employment discrimination, harassment and violent or threatening behavior in the workplace.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n