So this is just a made up story or is it?
You own two bars in SOMA and you are a heavy drinker and poor business person. One bar called the Hole in the Wall is your baby and it just cost you a great deal of money to relocate it in the SOMA neighborhood. You want this bar to continue and can't afford the second bar called the Eagle. You decide to sell the Eagle but during that time there is rampant problems created by this owner like inventory problems, rent not being paid for months and you decide it would be better to sell to a straight owner to cut down on competition for your bar the Hole in the Wall. In fact you have willingly made a deal to sell to the owners of the Skylark bar.
Well what would happen then if some drag queen and a young faerie hold a "Save the Eagle" rally and garner national attention around the closing of this institution and due to public pressure ruin the sale before it goes through?
Well one you would stand in front of these people and say there is no hope of saving the Eagle. You would say in the media there is no five year lease. You probably would not mention that there have been problems in your paying rent and thats why the owner of the land wants you out. You probably would not say that you received an eviction notice or two along the way and ignored them so that when the notice to appear in court around said eviction it comes as a shock to the people who are trying to save the Eagle. You would probably yell at your manager that this is his fault. Finally you would hold the liquor license hostage from potential buyers like say the owner of the Dallas Eagle; who has a great reputation as a community and AIDS activist. You might also go into the Eagle and start removing art work and memorabilia and stop liquor deliveries. Yep if your names were John and Joe and you currently just want out at any cost you would do this.... and to your own community.
While talking to a lawyer for the property owner all this might come out and become knowledge for the community. This lawyer would tell you things like, "Of corse we want a 30 year business to stay in the property that is just good business sense." Or "If it were not for all the problems with the current lease holder the entire process would have been easier," Or even "Keep it the Eagle but we can't get you the liquor license because John and Joe own that and they don't want to sell it."
It sounds like fiction but actually it's just about as true as can be. Hoodwinked by members of our own community.
Thanks a lot John and Joe. That was real nice to find out yesterday as you dismantled a place so many called home. Hope the Hole in the Wall serves you well but I will say that I will never step foot into one of your establishments again. I am very saddened to find all this out and would never ever give you another cent of queer monies after what you have put us through this last month. Utterly disturbing!
