Bottom of the Hill Won’t Close: A Longtime Regular Takes Over the Potrero Hill Club in 2027

Bottom of the Hill, the 247-capacity live-music club at 1233 17th St. in Potrero Hill, is no longer closing at the end of 2026. Owners Kathleen Owen, Ramona Downey and Lynn Schwarz have sold the business and its name to Michele Bronson, a biotech executive and longtime regular at the club, Coyote Media reported on October 22. SFist followed the same day. Bronson’s lease takes effect in January 2027.

The owners announced in January that the club would close after its final show of 2026. Since then they received nearly 40 inquiries from potential buyers, and, per SFist, the response from musicians, booking agents and longtime patrons led them to reconsider.

What Changes in 2027

Bronson bought the business through an LLC called I Saw Them When, and her lease is structured as three five-year terms, according to Coyote. Owen and Downey keep the Edwardian building, including its two second-floor apartments. SFist reports they kept the property because selling it could have left the venue open to redevelopment. The owners did not disclose other financial terms.

Bronson plans to close the club for at least a month in early 2027 for kitchen and bar upgrades required by city code, then reopen. No reopening date has been announced. SFist reports the club’s website and ticketing system will also change. About half of the 19 current employees have confirmed they will stay, Coyote reports.

She plans to book shows herself at first, with help from current staff, her family and Schwarz. She intends to keep local bands on bills with touring acts and keep the club’s policy of taking no cut of artists’ merchandise sales. SFist reports she hopes to bring back Sunday barbecues and has confirmed a few 2027 shows that have not been announced yet.

The Owners’ Final Week, December 26 to 31

The current owners close their run with a weeklong celebration in the last week of the year, with bands, DJs and a free goodbye poster by Emily Fromm, according to the club’s calendar. All six nights are all ages. Times are doors, then music; prices are door, then advance.

• Saturday, December 26: Top Secret Robot Alliance, Varona, Luke Sweeney, Henry Thayer and others. 4pm / 4:30pm. $10 / $14.31.
• Sunday, December 27: Mark Eitzel, Matt Jaffe, Funeral Cake, Strange Cities, Devoted Fans and others. 4pm / 4:30pm. $10 / $14.31.
• Monday, December 28: Man or Astro-Man? and The Subsonics, with DJ Fuzz. 8pm / 9pm. $40 / $49.96.
• Tuesday, December 29: Man or Astro-Man? and The Subsonics, with DJ Sid Presley. 8pm / 9pm. $40 / $49.96.
• Wednesday, December 30: Shannon Shaw and Tino Drima, with DJs Foodcourt and Sasquatch Borracho. 8pm / 9pm. $100 / $118.26.
• Thursday, December 31: Shannon Shaw and Will Sprott, with DJs Sid Presley and Classic Bar Music. 8pm / 9pm. $100 / $118.26.

Coyote describes the New Year’s Eve show with Shannon Shaw as the owners’ last night before Bronson’s lease begins.

For the club’s basics, see our Bottom of the Hill venue page, and for other rooms around the city, our list of live music venues in San Francisco. More Potrero Hill news: Jackson Playground’s $10 million state grant.

Sources: Coyote Media (Emma Silvers), SFist, Bottom of the Hill calendar.

Photo: The Loud Family at Bottom of the Hill, Robert Toren, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.