About Us

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El Rio began her life in 1978 as a Brazilian Leather Gay Bar aiming to serve the surrounding Mission District neighborhood and all good folks. Our founders, Malcolm and Robert, ran things until their retirement when the helm passed to The Crew. We are a queer run community space, an event space, a gathering place, a venue, a Mission mainstay and many other things to many people. We are grateful to our wonderful patrons and community for keeping us alive. ❤️

  • We are a LGBTQ+ owned and operated space and we are welcoming to all good people.

  • We actively invest in communities to promote social change.

  • We actively invest in our local arts and music scene to provide space and promote growth.

  • We actively pursue underserved communities in the use of our space to support mutual aid efforts and to act as a conduit, helping provide direct resources to those in need.

EL RIO SF

3158 Mission Street
San Francisco, CA 94110
hello@elriosf.com
415-282-3325

21+ w/ ID Only

 

We love this place, it’s our home.

We have a shuffle board and have been known to have very loud dice games
We are a work in progress and open to hearing opinions so speak up- hello@elriosf.com
And lastly, we are not for everyone but for those of you who feel welcome and at home, we are very, very happy you found us.

GENERAL INFORMATION

  • We are a bar so you must be 21+ to enter. We ID folks we don’t know.

  • You are welcome to bring in food. Clean up, use compostables and write us under groups if the food is more organized for a party. See groups.

  • All events are rain or shine.

  • We have wireless and it’s pretty strong!

  • We are friendly folks who can make a mean margarita and we love love love what we do.

  • We also have a bad bad temper for jerks so if you are one, don’t come and if you run across one here, let us know and we will happily have a chat with them.

  • We do not allow recording in the club other than you and your friends. We respect everyones privacy and appreciate that you do too.

  • We accept credit cards! We have two ATMS.

WHEELCHAIR ACCESIBILITY:
Our entrance and most of the club is wheelchair accessible including the back deck but not the yard. There are high lips on doorways out to patio. We have one ADA bathroom located in the live room where the back bar is located. Our other four bathrooms are not wheelchair accessible without assistance (please see exact measurements below), but three of them are equipped with grab bars.

PARKING:
Parking can be difficult. We are across from Muni bus stops and 3 blocks from the 24th street BART. There are 2 red meters out front that – if vacant – could be used for van unloading.

BATHROOMS:
We have 1 ADA bathroom, 1 gender neutral bathroom with 2 floor to ceiling stalls, 3 gender neutral single stall bathrooms, and one bathroom with 2 urinals.  Two of our bathrooms are located off a narrow hallway (with a 22” entry), those bathrooms are both 6’x4.5’, with doorways that measure 21.5”.  The easier to access bathroom in the front hall is 5’x5’, with a 25” wide doorway. All of our bathrooms with toilets have about 2 feet of clearance between the toilet and the wall/door, and they all have grab bars installed next to the toilets. The bathroom with two urinals is 5’x5’ with a doorway that measures 26”, with 3 feet of clearance between the wall/door and the urinals, it has no grab bars at this time.  Our ADA bathroom is fully accessible. Our smaller bathrooms may not be accessible without assistance.

LIGHTING:
Lighting is typical of most bars – we use a lot of Christmas Lights for ambiance. Back room has stage lighting that can be raised or lowered at the request of the performer. We also have disco balls in the front and back as well as moving lights and a hazer in the back room.

NOISE LEVEL:
Events here can be loud. Earplugs are available from the bartender or sound tech.

SERVICE ANIMALS:
We welcome (and adore!) service animals at most times. On mellower evenings and daytimes we encourage both service animals and pets in the bar.  Though service animals are always welcome, please be aware that we do not allow pets to our larger parties, and we encourage people to be thoughtful when bringing any animal to the club during those events- they are very crowded, loud, chaotic, and can be overwhelming even for normally calm animals.  If you do decide to bring a service animal to a large event, please attempt to arrive early to secure a secluded spot where your animal can go with you to relax during the party. We care about you and your service animal and want everyone to have a good time!

HYDRATION:
We have a few water stations set up around the bar with cups. We welcome you to use your own container but will need you to bring it in to the space empty.

DIRECTIONS
Address (again): 3158 Mission Street between Cesar Chavez and Valencia. (map)

PUBLIC TRANSPORT
MUNI: 12 Folsom, 14 Mission, 14L Mission Limited, 26 Valencia, 49 Van ness-Mission, 67 Bernal Heights.
BART: 24th St Station (We are four blocks south.)

BY VEHICLE
East Bay: take 80 into San Francisco (Bay Bridge) to 101 South; exit Cesar Chavez (West) to Mission Street (left). We are one block (at Precita) on the right.
South Bay: take 101 North into San Francisco; exit Cesar Chavez (West) to Mission Street (left). We are one block (at Precita) on the right.
North Bay: from 101 South into San Francisco; take Lombard Street to Van Ness (right), to Market Street (right), to Valencia Street (left), to Cesar Chavez (left), to Mission Street (right). We are one block on the the right.

PARKING
Mon-Thurs: is usually ok but the weekend can be tough. There is a lot across the street from our neighbor, Roccopulco, left side. It’s a tiny driveway.  $10.

Tips: Come early; and/or dump your vehicle, support public transportation, ride your bike, your skateboard, use your feet, rollerblades, hop and skip your way over, whatever , just come. oh and bring your mom, cause we love moms!!!

OUR LOGOS
El Rio Logo (web/print)
Carmen Motif (web/print)
E Rio “Your Dive” (web)