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Report: San Francisco Nightlife Institution Slim's To Close

SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- A longtime fixture of San Francisco's live music scene, the 11th Street nightclub Slim's is set to close after over 30 years of operation, according to reports.

A story by the San Francisco Chronicle's retired pop music critic and author Joel Selvin first reported the news on Friday. According to the story, operators of the the club co-owned by Bay Area musician Boz Scaggs notified employees about the pending closure on Wednesday.

Scaggs told the newspaper in an exclusive interview that the plan to close Slim's had been decided on by operators late last year. The pending closure was not related to the current coronavirus pandemic that has shut down entertainment venues across the Bay Area and the country.

It is not known whether the venue plans to remain closed as of Friday or if it will officially close at a later date. Currently on the calendar of concerts listed on the club's website, all scheduled events through the end of April are marked as postponed. Shows on May 1 and beyond still have tickets available for purchase.

The club at 333 11st Street first opened for business in 1988 when Scaggs and his business partner -- the late investor and venture capitalist Frank Caulfield, who passed away in December at age 80 -- decided to found a new medium-sized music venue to fill a void in San Francisco.

The 600-capacity venue has hosted a massive range of performances over the course of three decades. Local stars like Metallica, the Grateful Dead's Bob Weir, Huey Lewis & The News Green Day, Death Angel, Exodus and Scaggs himself have graced the club's stage multiple times. Other acts of note who performed there include the late Sun Ra and his Arkestra, Prince, the Foo Fighters, Radiohead, the Black Keys, Blue Oyster Cult, Pere Ubu, the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, Burning Spear, Buzzcocks, Screamin' Jay Hawkins and Dr. John.

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