Gold Dust Lounge Facing Closure: Iconic San Francisco Bar Served Eviction Notice (PHOTOS)

It's a sad day in downtown San Francisco. According to SFist, Union Square's favorite (and only remaining) dive bar, Gold Dust Lounge, is facing the axe.

Inside Scoop reported that the iconic bar -- founded in 1933 and loved for its cheap sticky drinks, ancient decor, live music and rowdy clientele -- received an unexpected eviction notice and lease cancellation, even though the business still has three years left on the contract. The cause? The landlord wants to make way for enormous Chicago-based clothing company, The Limited. Since clearly that's what Union Square is lacking.

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Owner Tasios Bovis (whose family has run the bar since 1965) told Inside Scoop that he plans to appeal the eviction. In the meantime, he's offering $3.50 margaritas, Irish coffees and glasses of champagne every day (!) until 8:30 p.m.

The Bovis family has launched an aggressive campaign to save the bar, which the family wisely pointed out, is older than the Golden Gate Bridge. Check out Gold Dust Lounge's new Facebook page, Twitter Feed and website to help with the effort. Oh, and get in on those $3.50 cocktails.

The Limited may have the final word, but not without a fight from the bar, the community and, according to Gold Dust press agent Lee Housekeeper, the ghost of Herb Cain.

It's been a tough year for business in San Francisco. Check out some other San Francisco icons fighting the good fight in 2012 in our slideshow below:

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Comments

[latoussaint]

12:42 AM on 01/18/2012

May the Tonga never close. I hate the Limited, the Gold Dust should be saved. The Castro is one of the reasons to live in SF, as well as the Botanical Gardens, and sending the 49ers to stupid Santa Clara, ugh, would be a huge mistake.

[Simin Atayman]

08:37 PM on 01/11/2012

NOOOOOO!!!!!!

[arid]

02:43 PM on 01/11/2012

Really, we don't need another second-tier clothing store in Union Square.

[jazzjude3]

09:08 AM on 01/11/2012

Ah, the Tonga Room. There's a story some swear is true, that many years ago, during the show, the vocalist got angry with the bandleader and jumped into the pool and climbed out, a true diva "I quit!"

[spearing24]

01:28 AM on 01/11/2012

In all honesty, the Gold Dust Lounge smells like a giant urinal cake.

[olddognewtrick]

05:17 PM on 01/11/2012

What was your complaint?

[d23ratm]

10:16 PM on 01/10/2012

Another example of the "CHESSY-IFICATION" of the late great city of San Francisco, I knew when I said after the 2010 Bay 2 Breakers It would be a long time before I visited again, I knew my feelings were justified.

[Ryan Chamberlain]

07:47 PM on 01/10/2012

We've got moratoriums-slash-lockdowns on "formula retail" everywhere else in town...gotta teach The Limited what "conditional use permit" means...

[arid]

02:46 PM on 01/11/2012

Yeah. It doesn't really help anyone, including The Limited, to be placed there. The competition is stiff enough already. I'm also sure that Macy's, N-M, Nordstroms VS and a whole host of other clothing stores in the neighborhood would argue against yet another clothing store.