Ace Cafe Gets Booted By Kink.com
I know this is somewhat old news, but feel free to read on anyway. After leaving Broke-Ass Stuart's party last night, I figured I'd swing into Ace Cafe for a Dirty Hippie on dutch crunch with a healthy side of onion rings and cold beer. Imagine my horror as I walked up to a locked gate on the door of one of the Mission's best bar n' grills and a renovation permit application notice slapped up on the window.
From a friend with a grip of knowledge of the local bar scene:
Kink owns the spot and raised the rent to some exorbitant figure. They tried to negotiate, but no go. Heard it was a real dickish sitch. And it's probably just going to be another porn set.
I loved that place too. Those blue cheese fries and Elvira pinball will definitely be missed.
Some cursory googling backs this claim up and suggests the owners have been looking for a new location for the past few months. The permits on the side of the building don't specify if the space will remain a bar or become a private porn set; regardless, I doubt anyone will be eating a mean helping of garlic and cheese fries at 14th and Mission anytime soon.
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I'm as sex positive as the next San Franciscan, but one must remember that porn isn't just about other people humping for cash, it's a big and cutthroat business.
It's been gone for over a month now, I think. Sad, because that corner is boring without all the motorcycles.
Two months, actually. There was a huge party the last night it was open. They've definitely shot porn in it since. In fact, they're filming something in it at this very moment (I live across the street). I dunno if it's porn or not, but there are signs up and lights outside. The signs weirdly refer to it as "Ace Bar".
Kink has actually owned it for over a year, I think.
Well, also it should be known that the people who own Kink.com are widely regarded as complete fucktards even within the sex-positive adult industry. Their treatment of their workers and performers is notoriously poor.
Notorious in what regard?
Well, I can't claim to have first-hand experience, but at least according to the people I know in the fetish industry, Kink is well-known to treat their workers/performers badly. *shrug*
That's quite a compelling argument you've got there.
What "argument"? Are you confusing me with some sort of Anti-Kink.com lobbyist? I just figured it was worth mentioning that they're run by scumbags who mistreat their workforce. I don't really care what people do with that information.
what information? all you've said so far is basically "i heard theyre dicks to their employees but dont take my word for it... "
I dunno what to tell you. I'm not reporting the results of a scientifically valid study of how great and/or terrible it may be to work for Kink.com. However, of the four people I do know who have worked for them, all four of them have very negative things to say about their experiences (specifically in relation to working conditions and interactions with management).
I'm not advancing an agenda, I don't actually care whether people believe that kink is a great and/or terrible place to work. I was simply mentioning, in passing, an anecdote that I thought relevant to the anecdote posted by Kevin, re: Kink.com/Ace Cafe. *shrug*
Are you talking about former Kink models or sysadmins? I've heard through the "sex positive gapevine" that models are well paid, treated respectfully and are generally into the scenes they shoot. Support staff may be a different story.
Actually, both. One of them was a SysAdmin for Kink, and the other three were performers.
What 'information?' Heresay and conjecture, at best.
First of all, are you arguing that hearsay is not a form of information? Interesting point of view. How do you figure?
I suppose that you hearing it from me technically makes it hearsay, since I have never worked for kink.com. However, I know multiple people who DO have direct, personal experience working for Kink.com, and it is from them that I get the information that it is a shitty place to work, and why.
Is it anecdotal evidence? Sure. But that's not the same thing as conjecture.
I just think that making a statement using implications of "notoriety" and "wide regard" would be backed up by more than the few people you know connected with the company. I guess working conditions can be somewhat subjective; but I would like to assure you that the conditions faced in some restaurants and coffee shops (most of which offer no benefits) are much less desirable than a San Francisco based production company.
And, yes, anecdotal evidence can blur into conjecture. Conjecture: Form an opinion or supposition about (something) on the basis of incomplete information.
It's so obvious that "Think_for_Me" is either an employee or has an agenda of some kind (friend of management?) Why else would it be so important to discredit someone else with a personal anecdote?
Oh yeah and for the record, I DO know the people who owned and worked at Ace Cafe and it WAS a hostile takeover. People are NOT happy about it. There's tons of porn out there. I say boycott Kink.com. Support some other non community-crushing porn enterprise.
That's so weird that you say that. I've always heard the exact opposite, and I've known several people who work or have worked for Kink, and have met and chatted with most of the people who run the place.
>>I doubt anyone will be eating a mean helping of garlic and cheese fries at 14th and Mission anytime soon.
>>They've definitely shot porn in it since. In fact, they're filming something in it at this very moment.
Sounds like somebody's eating a mean helping of cheese fries, alright. #ba-dum-psh
At this point, it's safe to assume that any surface you touch or put food on in the Mission has at one time been used jizzed on by Kink.com's performers.
Rob(the owner of Ace) had an option to renew the lease but Kink had their lawyers go over it and they found a loophole that allowed them to increase the rent to a point that Rod could not afford it. The owners of Kink wanted to have a bar in their building but The City wouldn't issue a permit so they forced Ace out. People lost their jobs because of these pieces of shit until Rob finds a new location.
I know a few people who work for Kink as models, and they've never had anything but positive things to say about working for the company. Also, I'm pretty sure it's going to remain a bar, just with a renovated image.
Dunno what to tell you. As mentioned above, the word from every ex-Kink.com employee I know has been deeply negative.
Kink, like some other very poorly operated companies that force out successful, community oriented small business should not be allowed to operate in The City. We'll continue to support these great businesses when/if they re-open and karma will get to Kink. Money might buy you location, but it will never buy you community support or respect.
Bravo. Boycott Kink.com. Tell your friends.
Peter can be Boss of the decade if he wants, and treat his workers like kings for all I care. He used nasty tactics to shut down a good place, run by good people.
...and how does it matter if it still remains a bar? The owner and all his workers were forced out of their jobs. It's just gentrification dressed up in s+m "sex positive" bullshit. Fuck that guy and his new stolen bar.
Just found this link because I wanted to know more about what happened to Ace. I have to say I'm puzzled that people are pissed off. "Nasty tactics?" As I understand it, Kink wanted to expand across the street. They bought the building, including the space Rob occupied, because they wanted to do something with the space.
The option to raise rent at time of renewal isn't a "loophole". It's a standard and significant negotiating point of any business lease. If Rob didn't negotiate that when he signed, it's either because he doesn't know how to negotiate, or because he traded away that right for other favorable terms. One risk of trading it away is that a landlord will raise your rent--either to true up to market, or to get rid of you so he can use the building for his desired purpose. Any business renter would (should) be aware of this. And I've never heard of a business lease with infinite options for tenant renewal, so Ace would be leaving at some point, regardless.
At that point they would do what any other business does: find a new space. It happens all the time.
Is your argument that Kink somehow has a moral obligation to continue renting to Rob? I don't get it.
Does anyone know what Kink is doing with the building? I'm just interested cos if it is becoming a bar, I would be interested in stopping in just to see what it looks like. Besides for that, knowing two people who have worked with Kink, one loves them, the other does not, but her complaints are pretty standard to the complaints you hear from most people that work for a boss. Baseline is, every company has employees that have positive and negative experiences. As for Ace Bar, it's unfortunate that you lost a neighborhood watering hole, but welcome to the reality of the business world. Why should Kink, the owners of the property, not try to make more profit out of their land (for which they probably pay taxes and purchased)? Ninety percent of us in the same position probably would have done the same thing because, at the end of the day, business is about maximizing profits and minimizing losses, not about putting smiles on your neighbor's faces.
Good to see another hipster douchebag turned away unsatisfied. The same assholes who pay you (your parents) would tell you thats business bitch. Fuck your blue cheese fries honky.
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