Before “dot-com” and “housing crisis” became fixtures in San Francisco’s lexicon, before a new ballpark and museums and an officially sanctioned Leather and LGBTQ Cultural District, “SoMa” was simply South of Market — home to a patchwork of warehouses, alleys lined with modest Edwardian houses, the heart of Filipino San Francisco, and the Folsom Street Fair.
It was also home to a lot of artists. In 1993, a gallery took root at 111 Minna, on the corner of 2nd Street, and quickly became a bar, a coffee shop, and a party and event space. It’s still there, 27 years later, but coronavirus has shut its doors. For how long?
Michelle Delaney is working on that.
She started at 111 Minna Gallery as a bartender 20 years ago. Now 44, she is a co-owner of the neighborhood cornerstone, which employs about 30 full-time and part-time workers.
Corporate and convention events, canceled for the foreseeable future, were an integral part of their business. Can she and her partners adapt quickly to pandemic times and keep the iconic 111 Minna afloat when, or if, we return to normal?
The Frisc checked in with Delaney last week.
This conversation has been edited and condensed.
The Frisc: What is your pandemic life now like?
Michelle Delaney: I go down to the gallery a couple times a week, check in on the space and the neighborhood. I went to the Academy of Arts College, then was at the gallery as a bartender. I’ve been in that neighborhood for 20 years. I was used to it being desolate back in the day. Now it’s depressing and sad and reminds me that our communities aren’t just buildings, but people. I’ve never felt scared to be in there, but now, with stuff going down outside, I’ve felt scared.
We’ve been dealing with graffiti and a broken window. One homeless guy Tim, who lives in the alleyway, called one of our employees and told her the window was broken. That was really special. He’s been there for a long time, does a good job taking care of the alley. He’ll clean it, and his girlfriend Linda is great. I was down there last time and saw him and worried because it’s hard for them to stay socially distanced.
What’s happening with the gallery?
We’re shut down completely. We’re known as a gallery, a community center, a bar, dance space, event center, coffee shop, all that, but we’re really a straight-up bar and not allowed to serve food.
On March 6 we had an art opening as things were getting kind of shutdown-ish. The show was called “Cancelled,” and people were calling and asking if the opening was cancelled. We said “No, it’s just called ‘Cancelled.’ You have to ask the artist why!”
Then the announcement came that the shutdown was going to happen, and my best friend and I went out and hit all the bars in the Mission.
All of a sudden, there was nobody here to buy coffee and alcohol. No customers. I didn’t even get to have a proper goodbye with my staff, no hugs, it was a sad way to separate.
How long can you hold out?
When will people be back in their offices? If they’re not back, we can’t open up.
That’s what we need, especially now that bigger conferences aren’t going to happen. Every event space in the neighborhood is going to be humongously impacted by the fact that the Moscone Center will be down.
It wasn’t like that when rents were lower; we could survive on bar sales, but those bar sales were from lots of people gathering, not “OK, let’s let in 40 people in at a time,” because a couple drinks each, that’s $1,200 for the night. After you pay for the cleaning and the staff, that’s not viable.
Are you thinking about how to adapt to a new social-distance reality when you open your doors again?
We’re brainstorming possibilities. We have about 3,000 usable square feet. So with 40 people in one room, 80 people in another, could two people trying to hang out have a drink six feet away from each other? Could there be a waiver, perhaps people with antibodies hanging out closer to each other?
We’re supposed to have a giant show for Last Gasp’s 50th anniversary. It’d be tricky because Ron [Turner, Last Gasp founder] is older and we have to make sure he’s safe. (Editor’s note: Last Gasp is a legendary underground publisher of comics and other far-out stuff.)
I was talking to Attaboy Owens of Hi Fructose, who had the idea of groups of 50 at a time, with timed entry. Whatever it is, it’ll have to be slow. Happy hour and maybe corporate things. They don’t generally need as many people.
I still have a few clients who’ve put deposits down for stuff in May and are trying hard to work with us on ideas. I could offer the space to bigger companies to give leeway to some workers, find interesting ways for the space to be used. Use Minna as a staging area or studio to do a livestream? Do interviews, meetings with people who need to be face-to-face? You can’t make deals with people from your bedroom!
Fact is, I need to come up with something semi-quickly and get it out there.
Some restaurants are selling off their high-end booze for revenue. Are you?
We never had super high-end stuff. That’s not our customer base or style. I was in the basement the other day and realized that we could use it as disinfectant. I mean, doesn’t vodka kill germs? [Laughs.]
How do you think the pandemic will change local art? Will art appreciation and display move more online?
I just watched a big group show on Instagram Live from the Corey Helford Gallery in LA. It was cool to walk around and talk about the pieces. The whole time you’re watching, you’re still imagining what it’s like to be there with a bunch of other people.
It’s amazing all these zeros and ones can do the digital representation of something that’s real, and it’s still kind of messing with our brains and making us happy and feeling connected.
How has the pandemic and shutdown made you feel about San Francisco’s future? Optimistic? Pessimistic?
Everyone’s doing such a good job, behaving so well and taking care of each other. I’m so thankful for being in SF — I’ve been eating a lot of awesome Indian to-go food!
[The public schools] are giving food to people; the SF-Marin Food Bank is doing an amazing job. I know the homelessness situation is horrible and we haven’t dealt with it well. But as for the schools, kids, for businesses not having to pay fees, there are a lot of protections.
Before the pandemic it was going to be our best year ever. Moscone is huge, all these conventions coming in. I went to my first event planners convention and was so inspired. We had so much stuff planned; it was my year to finally, maybe, become a grown-up. But coronavirus is not going to let that happen.
