August Hall & Fifth Arrow to open in spring to bring new life to former Ruby Skye space

A rendering of the music venue inside August Hall, a multi-floor concert hall, bar, restaurant and bowling alley set to open in San Francisco in 2018. A rendering of the music venue inside August Hall, a multi-floor concert hall, bar, restaurant and bowling alley set to open in San Francisco in 2018. Photo: Courtesy Of August Hall Photo: Courtesy Of August Hall Image 1 of / 3 Caption Close August Hall & Fifth Arrow to open in spring to bring new life to former Ruby Skye space 1 / 3 Back to Gallery

August Hall won’t just be a concert venue.

The Union Square business, settling into the Mason Street digs that once housed the Ruby Skye nightclub and underground bar Slide, will certainly be a venue. But it will also be a restaurant, with multiple bars and a three-lane bowling alley.

In fact, by the time it opens in the spring, August Hall will be two businesses: a concert venue on the street and mezzanine level, and Fifth Arrow, a no-ticket-required casual dining room and all-ages “gaming parlor” below — where it’s said there was once a speakeasy.

August Hall & Fifth Arrow, a combined project announced earlier this year before Ruby Skye’s closure June 10, is the work of four Bay Area natives. Justin Roja comes from Rambler at the Hotel Zeppelin and Redford Bar; he’s joined by Scott Murphy and Chad Donnelly, who help bring the annual SnowGlobe Music Festival to Lake Tahoe, and Nate Valentine, a restaurant pro who developed Mamacita, the Tipsy Pig and a handful of other successful spaces.

Now, they’re meeting a new, rather big challenge in restoring, revamping and reopening a venue that’s more than a century old.

The eight-story building at 420 Mason St., called the Native Sons of the Golden West building, was built in the 1890s by August Headman (whose name is honored with the concert hall’s new title). The walls’ elaborate lighting fixtures and art nouveau detailing, including profiles of Golden West club members in stained glass windows, had been previously obscured by low lighting at nightclub parties. Now, the new tenants are considering how to best preserve and showcase the room’s legacy in a venue that also needs to be state-of-the-art.

“It wasn’t about ripping out the history in this room, it was about highlighting” it, Valentine says. He’s quick to add, however, that there will be changes for the sake of the music, including the installation of a new sound system. “We’re soundproofing these walls, but we’re trying to retain the history of this room, improve the sound quality and increase the sight line in the room.”

Bringing live music to Union Square in a prominent, historical venue was important to Valentine and the others behind August Hall, particularly when concert venues in the city have been struggling, with several spaces aggressively threatened with noise violations or closing altogether. Longevity is also a priority, so they’ve secured a 30-year lease for the opportunity.

“We don’t want this (venue) to be a flash in the pan,” Valentine says. “We love this city; we want to create a venue that’s here forever,” Valentine says. “For us, that was making sure we have the right music programming.”

That’s when Live Nation took “a seat at the table,” says Jodi Goodman, president of Live Nation Northern California.

The venue, they decided, would not just be booking electronic artists — as SnowGlobe is known to promote with acts like this year’s headliners, Dillon Francis and Zedd — but all sorts of music and comedy acts.

“There is a shared vision between live bands and still maintaining the DJ and dance culture,” Goodman says. “The beauty of the room is it will have the flexibility based on the production. ... (Electronic music) will definitely have a strong presence, but the real driver is around its versatility for live music.”

Before and after those shows — and, if patrons so choose, during — guests can “take a break” and peruse other parts of the building. In the mezzanine will be Green Room, a separated bar with an expanded cocktail program, and below at Fifth Arrow, they can play a few games of bowling or nosh on pizza.

“All of us are Bay Area and San Francisco natives and we’ve gone to hundreds and hundreds of shows,” Roja says. “We come from the hospitality business as well. You’re there to see the band or DJ, yes, but you’re also there to get great service, a great drink and great hospitality. The music is the music, but this is a venue where people will want to come and make a night out of it.”