Entertainment Commission approves several permits, including Amnesia under new ownership

The San Francisco Entertainment Commission voted to approve multiple permit applications Tuesday, including a change-of-ownership place-of-entertainment permit for Amnesia (853 Valencia), an extended-hours premises permit for Grub Steak Diner (1525 Pine St.), and a place-of-entertainment permit for Press Club (Yerba Buena Lane).

Commissioners voted to grant the Amnesia permit after hearing from new owner Craig Wathan and numerous community members who described the venue as a vital music hub. "I'm a big fan of live music, and I would love to continue to support this," President Tan said during the discussion. Officer Parker of Southern Station told the commission he had met with Wathan and had "no concerns whatsoever," adding that Amnesia has "continued to do an outstanding job with security." Several public commenters highlighted Amnesia's role in supporting emerging artists: "This is, pretty much the heart of the music community in this place," said Bryant Denison, a longtime patron.

The commission also approved the Grub Steak Diner application for extended hours. New owner Nicholas Piggott described plans to keep the existing staff and menu while adding a security presence during busy late-night hours to ask patrons to "leave the neighborhood quietly." Northern Station had no objection and recommended normal police conditions. Press Club owner Andrew Chum requested a place-of-entertainment permit to run DJs on Friday and Saturday nights; Southern Station similarly recommended approval with police conditions, and Chum said the venue already schedules security and had notified the most affected residents.

All three approvals were taken with attached police conditions or the recommended good-neighbor measures. The consent calendar also included two items (a limited live performance application for Azucar on Ninth and a billiard parlor permit for Uptown) that passed without opposition.

Next steps: Conditions attached to each permit require venue compliance monitoring by Entertainment staff and coordination with the police when enforcement is needed. The commission encouraged ongoing communication with neighbors and police and closed the permit items after the votes.