Ginger’s, the gay bar in San Francisco’s Financial District, has closed for the foreseeable future.

San Francisco gay bar Ginger’s, a Financial District establishment with a history dating back to 1978, plans to serve its last Queen Bee and other cocktails tonight — perhaps forever. The bar will be going “on ice for now,” according to Future Bars Group owner Brian Sheehy.

Sheehy cited a lack of business and a tough role for the general manager as reasons for the closing. “The traffic to Ginger’s has not been consistently strong,” he told SFGATE. “Without enough customer support, our staff don’t earn enough tips, and Ginger’s operates at a loss. We have struggled to get people into Ginger’s, despite the valiant efforts of our entire team and the great shows being put on by the performers.”

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Like many bars in the city, Ginger’s has focused on entertainment to lure in customers in recent years, especially post-pandemic, when a lot of happy hour customers in the Financial District — and downtown in general — never fully returned. Throughout the week, Ginger’s hosted drag and variety shows, movie nights, karaoke and DJs. It was the bar manager’s job to book the shows and also to promote them, in addition to bartending. The wide range of responsibilities makes it a challenging job to fill.

“We lost our fantastic GM, Amelia Long, and we simply can't find a viable managerial replacement,” Sheehy said. “It's a demanding role because of the constant booking of talent required for each night, followed by the promotional requirements.”

The bar will be open on Thursday night from 5 p.m. until 2 a.m., “if we have customers,” Sheehy said.

Interior of Ginger’s in San Francisco.

Ginger’s has a long history in San Francisco that predates the Future Bars Group. The first Ginger’s opened in 1978 on Eddy Street near Union Square; before it closed there was Ginger’s Too on Sixth Street. Both were owned by Don Rogers, who named the bars for actress Ginger Rogers with whom he shared the surname. The original location closed, but in 1991 a new Ginger’s, Ginger’s Trois, opened at 246 Kearny St. in the Financial District.

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Gingers Trois in the early 2000s was a weird little bar. The bartop and bartenders were at a lower level than the rest of the room, so that customers sitting on stools were at or above eye level with the bartenders — if I remember correctly. (It was a long time ago; drinks were........

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