Jolene's owner Jolene Linsangan says Tuesday's crash could leave her paying roughly $10,000 in repairs up front while an insurance claim is pending. The SUV and pickup truck collided at 16th and Harrison streets around 8 a.m., and the SUV hit the queer Mission District bar's entry gates and front door. The SUV driver was reportedly injured and taken away on a stretcher; the pickup driver appeared unharmed.
The crash happened around 8 a.m. Tuesday, SFist reported. Mission Local reported that the two vehicles collided at the four-way intersection.
According to Mission Local, the collision sent the SUV into Jolene's entry gates, with its airbags deployed. Workers at nearby businesses told the outlet they heard the impact.
Owner Says She's Barely Surviving
Linsangan told Mission Local she would likely have to pay for repairs up front while waiting on insurance funds, saying, “I'm barely surviving over here.” Jolene's launched a fundraiser Tuesday, selling $20 tickets redeemable at any future event with a cover of $20 or less to help pay for a new gate and other necessary repairs while insurance remains pending. Linsangan said she plans to open as usual Thursday; the bar's regular schedule of Thursday through Saturday is expected to continue.
Jolene's opened in early 2019 as a lesbian-friendly club space. Supervisor Rafael Mandelman noted in a Facebook post that it opened as San Francisco's first bar and restaurant owned by a trans and queer woman of color. Before Jolene's moved into 2700 16th Street, the space had housed the nightlife venues Darger Bar and Dear Mom.
A Home for U-Haul
Spaces like Jolene's have become increasingly rare nationwide. Data compiled by the Lesbian Bar Project and cited on Reddit shows the number of operating lesbian bars in the U.S. dropped from roughly 200 in the 1980s to around 36 nationwide as of this year, underscoring how rare sapphic nightlife venues have become.
Questions About Intersection Safety
The city material reviewed here does not establish whether 16th and Harrison is on the High Injury Network or whether safety projects are planned for the intersection.
What Official Safety Records Establish
According to the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, the 2022 High Injury Network was created by the San Francisco Department of Public Health using severe- and fatal-injury data from several city agencies. The SFMTA page does not confirm whether the 16th Street corridor or 16th and Harrison are on the network, or identify safety projects specifically at that intersection.
Storefront Crashes Keep Hitting Mission Bars
Jolene's isn't the first beloved Mission District bar to take a direct hit from a vehicle. In January 2025, a two-car collision sent a sedan crashing into the facade of the Dovre Club on Valencia Street, an incident Hoodline covered at the time.
