Are more bars the answer to San Francisco's downtown recovery? Some say yes.
San Francisco leaders are hoping more restaurants and bars in the city's struggling tourist areas will help lead downtown's recovery.
Driving the news: Sen. Scott Wiener on Tuesday announced legislation that would create 20 new "low-cost" liquor licenses for hospitality zones in downtown SF around areas like the Moscone Center, Yerba Buena Gardens and Union Square.
Why it matters: Liquor licenses can be difficult to acquire in California because there is a per-county limit, creating fierce competition in the secondary market that can financially burden new businesses.
Since a new business must go through the secondary market to purchase a liquor license, costs can be as high as $200,000 or more, according to Wiener.
What they're saying: "We should be making it easier, not harder, for businesses to set up here," Mayor Daniel Lurie, who is partnering on the legislation, said on Tuesday.
Amy Cleary, with the Golden Gate Restaurant Association, is supportive of efforts to encourage new restaurant openings, but added that it's also important to find ways to "support existing businesses who have made significant economic investments in San Francisco."
How it works: Senate Bill 395 would create a new type of liquor license with a one-time cost of $20,000 for businesses in specifically-designated areas that contain at least one million square feet of retail shopping space.
Annual fees, and an application fee – which could cost up to $19,315 – must also be paid.
Wiener's bill is partly modeled after a law passed in 2016 that created Type 87 licenses, which helped more businesses open in certain neighborhoods like Portola, Bayview and Outer Sunset where the licenses are restricted to.
Between the lines: The announcement follows what Wiener called a "very successful weekend" of events marked by a large celebratory Lunar New Year parade and NBA All-Star festivities that brought a $350 million economic boost and hundreds of thousands of people to the city.
"We need to continue to build on the progress that we are making," Wiener said. "We see that when you give people a reason to be downtown, they go downtown."
Catch up quick: The new bill is the latest move in a wider plan to help lead what Lurie has called the city's " comeback."
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