SAN FRANCISCO—On Tuesday, May 6, San Francisco Mayor Edwin Lee and Supervisor Scott Wiener launched the NightlifeSF, an initiative that aims to strengthen the vibrant nightlife and entertainment industry in the city.
According to a press release from the Mayor’s website, the city of San Francisco generates close to $4 billion from restaurants, bars, nightclubs, live music venues and performing arts spaces and has created over 52,000 jobs in the region. This new initiative is aimed to new and existing business all the tools and resources needed to maintain a successful nightlife business in the city.
“Our City’s world-class nightlife and entertainment industry helps make San Francisco a unique and great place to live, work, play and visit,” said Mayor Lee. “The range of tools we are deploying provides our nightlife and entertainment businesses with valuable resources and guidance so they can start, stay, and successfully thrive— keeping San Francisco a premier nightlife destination.”
“Nightlife and entertainment businesses create jobs, generate tourism, and enrich our neighborhoods,” said Supervisor Wiener. “I applaud the launch of NightlifeSF to help nightlife businesses continue to support the City’s cultural and economic vitality.”
The new initiative is being led by a qualified nightlife and entertainment sector manager at the Office of Economic and Workforce Development to ensure that City government is attuned to the needs and wants of the industry to improve the level of communication the government has with these various businesses. A new handbook will be available that provides details on how to start a nightlife business and points out things to help run a successful business like location, obtaining City loan and grant programs to ensure the business financially grows.
The new initiative also includes the website NightlifeSF.org that provides individuals easy access to download material and resources for businesses to access.
“Setting up a bar and entertainment business in San Francisco presents good rewards and many hurdles for aspiring entrepreneurs,” said Future Bars CEO Brian Sheehy. “Now, with such a vast amount of resources and information centralized at NightlifeSF.org, the process of getting from business idea to opening night is sure to be more efficient and less drawn out. It is a very welcome and much needed development resource for such an important industry to the economy of San Francisco.”
A 2012 economic study by the City Controller, San Francisco nightlife businesses bring in about $4 billion in local spending from over 80 million customers each year. Nightlife companies in the city face intricate permitting systems that make it difficult to and costly to operate a business in the region.
“The NightlifeSF initiative is an exciting effort to bring together and grow the local music industry,” said Michael Romanowski, Owner of Michael Romanowski Mastering and Coast Recorders and the President of the San Francisco Chapter of the Recording Academy. “I am very confident that this initiative will increase the opportunities for local musicians to strengthen their community and to build their careers in vibrant and creative San Francisco.”
By LaDale Anderson
