This Inner Richmond Bar and Club Could Face A $30,000 Fine for Copyright Infringement

Neck of the Woods, a Clement Street haunt for college students and fans of lowkey shows, is being sued by the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP). That makes it one of 12 such nightclubs throughout the country the group is taking to task over allegedly not paying ASCAP licensing fees, for which fines could reach up to $30,000. Hoodline writes the fee is a relatively small payment bars throughout the country commonly pay to play songs on jukeboxes, at open mics, and at events of that nature.

A prominent bar owner in San Francisco, who chose to remain anonymous, told the outlet the fee is somewhere in the range of $1,000 a year. The San Francisco Examiner reports Neck of the Woods kept a license with the ASCAP from 2009 to 2015 but, even then, failed to pay its dues and had its license with the ASCAP terminated. The payment is compensation for musicians who are, ever more so in the digital age, often paid poorly for their talents. “ASCAP has made numerous attempts at the establishments listed below to offer a license and educate the business owners about their obligations under federal copyright law,” the group’s statement says.

Michelin-starred restaurant looks to set up in FiDi

Tyler Florence and his much-revered Wayfare Tavern will open at Pine and Battery streets. The San Francisco Business Times writes that it remains unclear if this is a second location or a relocation for the restaurant. Florence opened top-tier steakhouse Miller & Lux at Chase Center in 2021.

Longstanding Sacramento sushi spot to be replaced by new venture

Shige Tokita closed his legendary eponymous sushi restaurant at 5938 Madison Avenue in Sacramento in November. Now, the Bee reports the liquor license has been transferred to Cameron Alexander Stewart who will open a Japanese restaurant called Hito Yatai in the space.

Castro District nightclub postpones reopening after licensing issue

Badlands, a go-to for cutting a rug late at night for more than 45 years, closed in July 2020. That said, prolific landlord Les Natali told the Bay Area Reporter just last week that the club could reopen under a new name in as few as eight weeks. Now, Hoodline finds Natali was forced to surrender the bar’s liquor license. It’s unclear why, but any kind of reopening is, at the least, delayed.

Dig into Inner Richmond’s small business community

The Small Business Boogie, a monthly crawl through rotating San Francisco neighborhoods to support local businesses, is hitting the Inner Richmond on February 21 from 6 to 8 p.m. Beginning at Spanish Table at 6 p.m., the crawl winds through a few non-food shops on Clement Street before making it to 540 Rogues at 7:30 p.m. for drinks and a raffle.