It’s not new news that there are plans to demolish the Phoenix Irish Pub on Valencia Street. We first reported in 2018 that there were plans to demolish the building and replace it with an SRO. But it is news now that those plans have been approved, albeit a slightly revised version.
Mission Local reports that the plans for the destruction of the Phoenix Irish Pub building have been approved by the SF Planning Department. The new plans call for a slightly smaller SRO (single-room occupancy) building of only 19 units, as opposed to the 20 units proposed in 2018.
Hoodline can confirm this, having located the Planning Department documents. The department approved a destruction permit on April 5 to “demolish a type V-B, 1-story restaurant,” at the Phoenix's address, and that same day, approved a building permit “to erect a type 1A/5A, 6-story, 19-dwelling units with retail mixed use building” at a cost of $2.79 million.
That does not explicitly say that the Phoenix would be closing. But note how they refer to it as a “1-story restaurant,” while the new structure would be a “retail mixed use building.” The new filing refers to retail uses, and not restaurant or bar uses.
Neither Mission Local nor SFGate got comment out of the bar’s ownership, so we cannot say for certain what’s happening with the Phoenix Irish Pub. And as we learned with Lucky 13, even an official bar closure can take years as the property developer sorts out their plans. Plus, the pub can always just find a new location.
But from the looks of things now, the building at 811 Valencia Street is definitely poised to be demolished, and it does not appear the Phoenix will be rising from the ashes of whatever will take that building’s place.