"The 20 new liquor licenses Mayor Lurie is dropping on Union Square are getting predictable blowback from downtown bar owners, who are still struggling from the pandemic and not particularly keen on having 20 new competitors."
"As Governor Gavin Newsom has been on his annual bill-signing spree over the last month or so, one bill he signed that really caught our eye was the bill that granted 20 new liquor licenses to Union Square. The new liquor licenses were actually Mayor Daniel Lurie and state Senator Scott Wiener's idea, and Wiener pushed the bill through the state legislature in Sacramento. The licenses are available at a base price of $20,000, a fraction of what many downtown bars paid for theirs on the secondary market."
"The thought of 20 additional licenses coming into the marketplace in a concentrated area like Union Square and Yerba Buena that's a dangerous approach to take, Brian Sheehy, CEO of Future Bars (Bourbon & Branch, Local Edition, Pagan Idol) told SFGate. The pie is only so big. And if we're going to be slicing the pie into 20 more slices, many people are going to go hungry, and not many are going to be able to survive."
Mayor Daniel Lurie and state Senator Scott Wiener secured legislation granting 20 new liquor licenses for Union Square, signed by Governor Gavin Newsom. The licenses are offered at a base price of $20,000, substantially below recent secondary-market prices. The measure aims to enable new businesses to open and to attract tourists and locals. Many existing downtown bar and restaurant owners oppose the concentrated issuance, citing pandemic-era struggles and concerns about market oversaturation and survival. Critics liken the move to past controversial policy decisions that harmed long-term owners. City officials maintain the licenses are structured to avoid harming current establishments.
Read at sfist.com
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