After 44 years, SRO Lounge closed Sunday, giving patrons only a few hours’ notice through an Instagram post, according to Times of San Diego. The bar at 1807 Fifth Ave., beside The Balboa near Fifth Avenue and Elm Street, had operated since 1982. Its abrupt closing prompted longtime patrons to gather before the final last call.
John Sanfilippo and Bryan Galvin opened the lounge more than four decades ago. Over time, it became a destination for cross-dressing, gender non-conforming and transgender San Diegans, according to Times of San Diego. Paris Quion, a transgender community leader and owner of Hillcrest restaurant InsideOut, described the bar as a place where trans people could find respite from hostility they faced elsewhere.
A Packed Final Night, Then a Sudden End
News of the closure brought patrons together Sunday night to remember the bar. Tyler Renner, who moved to San Diego more than a decade ago, said SRO was the first queer space he visited that specifically served the trans community. He described a crowded room of people sharing a final drink and memories before the lounge closed.
In its farewell post, the SRO team reflected on the small space as a place where people could belong and feel welcome. Patrons also shared that the bar was where some first felt affirmed while exploring their gender expression or coming out. The announcement left open the possibility of a future return. Rev. Dan Koeshall expressed sadness about the closure, as did regulars who had only hours’ notice before the final night. The bar’s owners could not be reached to clarify their plans, the same report notes.
An Uncertain Future for the Space
A 2019 building permit, which has since expired, outlined a proposal for a four-story mixed-use building on the site, with restaurant and office space on the lower floor and 20 residential units above, according to Times of San Diego. Quion said she hopes to continue SRO’s legacy, whether at the current site or elsewhere, and stressed the importance of queer spaces. No reopening or new location has been confirmed.
What the Community Plan Says
The City of San Diego’s Uptown Community Plan identifies Fifth Avenue and Laurel Street in Bankers Hill/Park West as a smaller neighborhood-scale community center. Its Urban Design Element aims to retain and enhance Uptown’s distinctive physical attributes while recognizing the potential for positive growth and change—context for considering the corridor’s mix of commercial activity and housing.
The closure follows an attack outside the lounge on Nov. 15, 2025. An unknown assailant in an older F-150 shot pellets at patrons, injuring two transgender women, according to Times of San Diego. The same outlet reported other incidents over the years, including eggings and graffiti.
A Shrinking Map of LGBTQ Bars
According to Times of San Diego, most of San Diego’s enduring gay bars are now in Hillcrest, with exceptions in North Park including The Eagle, Pecs Bar and the gay-friendly Redwing Bar. The Hole, described for years as the city’s longest-operating gay bar, rebranded earlier this year as Bar 1924, added an upscale cocktail menu and removed references to its century-old gay-bar history from its website, the outlet reported.
Voice of San Diego has reported that roughly a dozen gay bars remain open citywide, after LGBTQ bars once clustered in North Park, Bankers Hill and University Heights as well as Hillcrest. The Flame, once the city’s most high-profile lesbian bar, closed in 2004; the Brass Rail has operated in Hillcrest since 1963, shortly before the neighborhood became a magnet for LGBTQ residents. A separate academic study found that national gay-bar listings declined by 36.6 percent from 2007 to 2019, with listings for bars serving people of color falling even further.
SRO’s closure leaves an empty storefront on Fifth Avenue and uncertainty about what will follow. Quion’s hope to continue the lounge’s legacy, in some form, is a possible link between its 44-year history and whatever comes next.
