The Gangway, oldest gay bar in the city, to close

The Gangway, the oldest gay bar in the city, will be closing its doors. The Gangway, the oldest gay bar in the city, will be closing its doors. Photo: Michela, Flickr Photo: Michela, Flickr Image 1 of / 3 Caption Close The Gangway, oldest gay bar in the city, to close 1 / 3 Back to Gallery

It has already been a bad couple years for LGBT-friendly bars in San Francisco, and with news that the Gangway, the city's oldest gay bar, would be shuttering following a lawsuit and the death of its longtime manager, it doesn't seem that things are getting any better.

Jung Lee, who along with his late wife, owned the bar for 18 years, planned to sell the bar in 2017, but an unexpected lawsuit by a disgruntled employee is moving up the schedule. According to a report by Hoodline, one of the Gangway's bartenders has filed suit against the bar, claiming that Lee did not compensate him or her with California's minimum wage ($10.24 hourly at the time). Lee says he was under the impression that he did not have to pay bartenders minimum wage due to the tip credit.

Lee, as it turns out, was in the wrong here, as California does not recognize the tip credit, and has since been forced to pay the employee $7,400 in back wages, as well as other fees and lost wages to at least one other employee. Lee, however, states that the his transgressions were not intentional.

As a result, Lee has decided to sell the bar earlier than he initially planned to recoup costs, and it seems he already has a new buyer.

The nautical-themed bar, which has been in operation in the Polk gulch since 1910, and has existed as a well loved gay bar since the early 1960s, has reportedly transferred its liquor license as of January 6, 2016 to a company called Breaking Chad, Inc.

According to the official transfer filed with the California ABC, Breaking Chad plans to open a bar called "Daddy Bones."

As SFist writes, the Polk Gulch and Tenderloin neighborhoods were the first home to the first Gay Pride parade and for a long time, was "where the center of gay life existed each night."

SFGATE was not able to reach Lee by the time this story went to press.