Changes are coming to Hue Lounge and Nightclub at 447 Broadway (between Montgomery and Kearny streets) in North Beach.
On June 6th, the Entertainment Commission banned live music after midnight at the club for the next six months. The decision was upheld by the Board Of Appeals on July 26th, and additional terms require that the nightclub play music at an ambient level.
Although the decision is temporary, owner Bennett Montoya said he's not certain if the club will survive.
"Business has been down 50 percent the first weekend and continues to decline," he told us. “We are really going to struggle the next six months until we get a chance to go before the Entertainment Commission, [have] them review this decision, and hopefully overturn it."
In the meantime, Montoya said the club will focus on a new marketing strategy that encourages guests to attend live shows with earlier start times.
City officials enacted the ban after receiving numerous complaints from neighbors and merchants. The Top of Broadway CBD told SFPD that with loud music, public intoxication and fights, the nightclub is a nuisance to the community.
Montoya said Alcohol Beverage Control has visited the nightclub three times just in 2017 alone, but it has never received a sound violation.
“[The Board of Appeals'] decision to uphold the Entertainment Commission's conditions—and add the condition that we work with the EC to have a sound test performed to establish the ambient level," he told us, "shows a blatant disregard for the fact that we have never been in violation of the sound ordinance that the Entertainment Commission has stipulated to us.”
Hue supporters who opposed the temporary ban spoke of their positive experiences at the club.
“I’ve been working for SFNightlife.com for many years and HUE is one of my go-to places," said event promoter Robert Lee. "The staff at HUE is easy to work with, and the environment is family life. If you go to North Beach to party, chances are that you will move from one bar to the next."
Lee said he believes Hue's space could be the target of a development.
"One thing I noticed about nightclubs that close is that the building ends up becoming part of some big development project," he said. "I’m not saying that’s the case here, but it’s possible.”
Other community members said the CBD and SFPD is racially biased, as Hue is known for hosting events that attract an African-American clientele.
Supervisor Aaron Peskin weighed in on the issue of race.
”I was on the Board of Supervisors for a period of years when we had a number of homicides on the 400th block of Broadway," he told us. He said that while Broadway has many clubs, Hue was a "consistently troubled spot."
"I don’t care who the patrons are, what color or religious background they are," he added. "I care that there is not violence and people getting beaten up. This particular venue has consistently been a problem, and I owe it to the public and my constituents who witness it weekend in and out.”
Despite dwindling attendance, Montoya said he's determined to create an environment that works for his patrons, neighbors and law enforcement. In addition to moving live performances to earlier in the evening, there’s talk of daytime brunch-style events.
"The challenge is getting patrons to arrive at the club earlier to watch artists perform at 11pm, instead of 12:30am or 1am, as they have in the past," he said.
With revenue currently down, Montoya added that he's hopeful that the new series of hip-hop, R&B and Latin Trap artists he has planned for the upcoming months will bring patrons to the club earlier.
