To Keep DNA Lounge Open, Owner Closes Two Other Businesses … – Eater SF

The SoMa all-ages venue Codeword and its adjoining pizza restaurant DNA Pizza will close at the end of July according to owner Jamie Zawinski. The nightclub proprietor, who also owns and operates the larger DNA Lounge, revealed the news on his blog yesterday, explaining that closing Codeword and DNA Pizzeria could help the already embattled DNA Lounge survive.

Zawinksi signed the lease on his second, smaller venue Codeword at 917 Folsom (5th and Folsom) in 2015 amid better business at his flagship club, DNA Lounge. Since then, things have taken a bad turn for the businesses generally, as Zawinski first confided in a December blog post.

Formerly a software engineer, Zawinski opened DNA Lounge with his winnings in the Startup Lottery, but after spending an estimated $5 million on it without turning a profit, hes run out of money. Now, unless he sees an uptick in attendance at DNA Lounge and support in the form of donations from patrons, Zawinski says hell have to close his club. But first, the ax is coming down for its spinoff, Codeword.

Rather than blaming high rent as a cause of Codewords closure, Zawinski actually thanks his landlord, who even lowered the rent and allowed Zawinski to break his lease when he couldnt find anyone to buy the business and take over the lease. Most of all, Zawinski thanked all of the artists and promoters who made a go of it at the club.

But will closing Codeword and DNA Pizzeria save DNA Lounge? Zawinski doesnt sound optimistic. Overall, we're still pretty fucked, he writes. Getting rid of Codeword staunches the flow, but we're still bleeding out, every damned day.

To help, you can donate to the clubs Patreon account, or go dance at Bootie, the weekly dance/sweat party held at DNA Lounge.

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To Keep DNA Lounge Open, Owner Closes Two Other Businesses ... - Eater SF