456 Castro Street
San Francisco, California 94114
(415) 864-2877
QBarSF.com
Status: LGBT Bar
Previously: Bar on Castro, Castro Station, Le Bistro, Dirty Dick’s, Twilight
In Their Own Words: Parties include “Wanted” on Mondays, “13 Licks” on Tuesdays, “Booty Call” on Wednesdays, “Throwback Thursdays” on Thursdays, “Hard” on Fridays, “Saturgay” on Saturdays, and “Sungay” on Sundays.
History
Summary
| Name | Dates of Operation |
| QBar | 2009 – present |
| Bar on Castro | 1998 – 2009 |
| Castro Station | 1977 – 1998 |
| Le Bistro | 1976 |
| Dirty Dick’s | 1973 – 1975 |
| Twilight | 1971 – 1973 |
Details
When 456 Castro first became Twilight, a gay, bar in 1971, there were already four other gay bars in the neighborhood, two within a few blocks (the Missouri Mule at 2248 Market and the Honey Bucket at 4146 18th, which became the Pendulum that same year), and the Mint and Libra farther down Market Street. But 1971 was a pivotal year for cementing the Castro as a gay neighborhood: in addition to Twilight, four other gay bars opened the same year, including the original Toad Hall and the original Midnight Sun, both then on Castro Street.
Twilight lasted for about a year or so before becoming Dirty Dick’s (1973-1975), Le Bistro (1976), and then its longest incarnation, Castro Station (1977-1998), which lasted for 21 years. It featured a stained glass window etched with the the bar’s train logo. After Castro Station ended, the etched glass was displayed at Fife’s in Guerneville. Fife’s is now Dawn Ranch Lodge.
Then in 1998, Greg Bronstein acquired the bar and reopened it as the Bar on Castro, often called the BOC or simply The Bar.
In January of 2009, Greg Bronstein was unable to renew his lease at 456 Castro Street. He moved the BOC to the former Transfer space at 198 Church Street, calling his new bar the Bar on Church in order to keep the BOC branding he had built.
456 Castro was taken over by Tim Eicher and Rob Giljum, who had purchased the Rainbow Cattle Company in Guerneville in 2005. They brought in two other owners for their Castro venture, John Bellemore and Jeff Eubanks, Eicher’s boyfriend. The four business partners signed a 20 year lease with the building’s owner.
The new owners spruced up the place and held a contest for naming it, ultimately settling on QBar.
Though it was rumored that party promoters Joshua J and Juanita More would take their party Booty Call from the Bar on Castro to Bronstein’s new Bar on Church, they opted to stay put and the party still remains strong at QBar.
The four owners subsequently purchased three other bars in the neighborhood as they became available, including the Edge, the Midnight Sun, and Beaux at Trigger’s old location. Some have said, according to the Bay Area Reporter, that the four are responsible for saving gay nightlife by ensuring that existing venues remain gay bars.
In 2019, several of the owners sold their shares of QBar to Cip Cipriano, an employee who formerly owned Underground SF in the Lower Haight and My Place in SOMA. John “JB” Bellemore, one of the four who bought the bar in 2009, remains a co-owner.
In the early morning of Saturday, November 16, 2019, a fire broke out on the 400 block on Castro Street, ultimately spreading to four residential buildings with business storefronts. Four businesses were damaged: QBar, Osaka Sushi, Body clothing shop, and Cafe Mystique.
The damage to Body and Cafe Mystique was more limited. Both were able to reopen quickly, but for Body, it was only temporary. The owner, Petyr Kane, had already been struggling to find a new location, as his lease couldn’t be extended due to mandatory earthquake retrofitting that the building was about to undergo. The fire was the final straw, and Body closed for good on December 31.
But QBar and Osaka Sushi remain closed while the spaces are repaired. QBar’s damage came exclusively from water used to put out the fire, but it was extensive. One silver lining: the owners had deferred remodeling the space in order to keep it open for business. Now that it’s closed to repair the damage, they will be able to rebuild it to their liking.
Sources
Bajko, Matthew S., “New year brings Castro bar changes,” Bay Area Reporter, January 8, 2009.
Bracco, Steven, “Castro community comes together to help victims of 4-alarm fire,” Hoodline, November 18, 2019.
Bracco, Steven, “Castro residents, businesses begin recovery process after 4-alarm fire,” Hoodline, January 29, 2020.
Ferrannini, John, “City will provide assistance to Castro businesses damaged in fire,” Bay Area Reporter, November 18, 2019.
Laird, Cynthia, “Store to close after Castro fire,” Bay Area Reporter, December 4, 2019.
“Matchbox Gallery,” Uncle Donald’s Castro Street.
Provenzano, Jim, “Rad Beaux-mance: the newest bar has opened up,” Bay Area Reporter, October 17, 2013.
Sher, Mike, “Notes from the underground,” Bay Area Reporter, February 26, 2008.
Location
456 Castro Street, San Francisco
