San Francisco committee backs three liquor-license transfers for downtown and Chinatown venues

The Public Safety and Neighborhood Services Committee of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors on July 10 voted unanimously to ask the clerk to prepare resolutions recommending that the full Board approve three liquor-license actions: a type 21 off-sale general license for Amador Liquors and Wines at 550 Montgomery Street; a type 90 on-sale general (music venue) license for the International Art Museum of America at 1025 Market Street; and a type 42 on-sale beer-and-wine license for Blue Stream Gallery and Wines at 555 Grant Avenue. The committee’s roll calls were 3-0 in favor of forwarding each item with a positive recommendation to the full Board.

The committee’s approvals follow Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) liaison recommendations of conditional approval for all three applications. Conditions noted in the department files and read into the record require each petitioner to “actively monitor the area under their control in an effort to prevent the loitering of persons on any property adjacent to the licensed premises as depicted on ABC-257.” Deputy City Attorney Brad Russi said the committee record contains the conditions being recommended for each matter. There was no public comment on any of the items at the committee meeting.

Supervisor Danny Sauter, whose district includes the Financial District and Chinatown, said he would support each application. Regarding the Amador Liquors application, Sauter said the business “will contribute to our downtown recovery” and that the police department’s Central Station had expressed no opposition. On the International Art Museum of America application, Sauter described the museum as “a cultural treasure on Market Street” and said the license would “enhance the museum’s ability to host vibrant community-centered events.”

Officer Natalie Viatoro Crane of the San Francisco Police Department’s ABC liaison unit reported that, for the Amador Liquors and Blue Stream Gallery items, the department’s files showed zero letters of protest and zero letters of support. For the International Art Museum item the officer initially stated there were zero letters of protest, but Deputy City Attorney Brad Russi later told the committee that the board file indicates two letters of protest for that matter; the committee record was described as complete and including those letters. The Blue Stream Gallery application was noted in the department report as located in “Plot 160,” described in that file as a high-crime area, and in Census Tract 117, which the report labeled a high-concentration area.

Steven Lee, principal of Blue Stream and a longtime Chinatown business owner, told the committee that the proposed type 42 license would allow on-site beer and wine service that he said will support wine tastings and small retail sales and help the business survive. His representative, registered lobbyist Stefano Casalado, said the applicant would consider surrendering two existing licenses (a type 20 off-sale beer-and-wine license and a restricted type 86 wine-tasting license) if the committee approved the type 42 with off-sale privileges.

Each committee motion was to request that the clerk prepare a resolution reaching the determination that issuance of the respective license “would serve the public convenience or necessity” and to forward that resolution to the full Board with a positive recommendation. The committee recorded votes of Supervisor Danny Sauter, Vice Chair Mahmood and Chair Matt Dorsey as “aye” on each motion. The committee clerk noted that items acted on at the committee were expected to appear on the Board of Supervisors agenda on July 22, 2025.

The committee’s actions do not constitute final Board approval; each matter will return to the full Board for final action, where additional testimony or different outcomes are possible.