The owners of independent live music venue, Bottom of the Hill, announced Friday they’ll be closing the doors to the 35-year-old institution after New Year’s Eve 2026. The owners hope the space can be taken on by another community-minded business.
Bottom of the Hill co-owners Ramona Downey, Kathleen Owen, and Lynn Schwarz announced on social media Friday that the legendary Potrero Hill music venue will be closing its doors at the end of the year after 35 years in business.
Coyote Media spoke with Downey, Owen, and Schwarz, who said it was “the hardest decision we’ve ever made,” but they all agreed it’s time to move on — whether it be relaxing or pursuing other projects. They also cited rising operation costs, shifting demographics, and the corporatizing of music as contributing factors in the closure.
As Broke-Ass Stuart laments, Bottom of the Hill has been an essential part of the local music scene since the ‘90s, giving fans a chance to see quality, up-and-coming bands before they gained popularity and moved on to much larger venues. Per Coyote, co-owner Ramona Downey was the club’s booker for 27 years and is credited with hosting bands such as the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Pavement, the Beastie Boys, the Flaming Lips, the White Stripes, and Lizzo before they became well known.
“We all agreed that we’ve had so many good years, and we want to go out on a good note — not because we went out of business, but because we all decided, collectively, it’s time,” Downey told Coyote.
“[Closing] is so hard to even fathom,” Schwarz, who began as a cook at the club in 1997, told Coyote. “I feel like we could stay open forever. But as soon as it got brought up, it felt like the right decision.”
Per Coyote, it’s unclear what will happen with the space after it closes. The owners also own the building, which they said they might consider selling to another community-based business. They also haven’t ruled out the possibility of selling the “Bottom of the Hill” name along with the property, as long as the new owners’ values align with their own, per Coyote.
“In its current incarnation, we have a year,” says Schwarz. “If we sell the business name, it would have to be to someone that we absolutely trusted with our legacy, you know? That means a lot to us.”
As Coyote notes, the club’s management is known for its altruism, including giving a leg-up to its staff, who routinely move up through the venue’s ranks and on to other clubs, and they’ve organized an untold number of fundraisers over the years.
“We have hosted tens of thousands of musical artists and have been a community partner as well, holding numerous benefits, school recitals, weddings, birthdays, and memorials,” the owners wrote in their announcement. “Let’s have one more solid year of memories together and bid a fond farewell to a legendary venue.”
The calendar for Bottom of the Hill’s final year is sure to be an epic one, as the owners told Coyote they have their sights set on iconic headliners such as Murder City Devils, The Jesus Lizard, and Queens of the Stone Age.
Image: Bottom of the Hill