Bottom of the Hill, the Potrero Hill rock club that had planned to close at the end of 2026, will stay open under a new owner, according to reports first published by Coyote Media Collective on Oct. 22.
Michele Bronson, a biotech executive who has attended shows at the club since the early 1990s, bought the business from longtime owners Kathleen Owen, Ramona Downey and Lynn Schwarz, the San Francisco Chronicle reported. The owners keep the 115-year-old building at 1233 17th St.
What changes
Bronson plans to close the club for at least a month after the New Year's Eve show, with Shannon Shaw, mainly for code-related kitchen and bar upgrades, KQED reported. She also wants to update the '90s-era website and ticketing, keep the current staff and, at first, handle booking herself.
She plans to keep the club independent, keep booking local artists and keep the practice of not taking a cut of bands' merchandise sales.
Why it was sold, not closed
The owners announced the closure about 10 months ago. Then came an outpouring from fans and bands; some agents said they'd skip San Francisco on tours without the club. "We realized that we are but stewards of this place, and it got bigger than us," Schwarz told KQED. The owners got nearly 40 inquiries and three serious offers.
Since 1991, the 246-capacity room has hosted early shows by Green Day, Oasis, the White Stripes, the Strokes and the Beastie Boys.