The Transfer Sold Again?

Walking past The Transfer bar on Church Street this weekend I noticed a transfer of ownership sign in the window, and all the full-window event posters were gone. It seems that just about a year and a half after purchasing the bar where dreams went to die and turning it into a small sensation, Greg Bronstein has decided to shuck it off on someone else. According to this somewhat dated article in the Bay Area Reporter Bronstein has been steadily divesting himself of his restaurants with an eye toward developing his bar properties, but it's unclear how getting rid of The Transfer, which has been doing booming business with the likes of Bus Station John's Double Dutch Disco, fits in with the grand scheme. Though mere blocks from my pad, I never got into The Transfer, having only been there once for a friend's birthday party. The DJ that night was playing uninspired selections from the feel-good funk catalog, and using the "Jet" setting (known to the rest of us as a flanger)on her CDJ-100s as a kind of substitute cross-fader. The other nights advertised there never managed to capture my attention, and I'm not into BSJs retro vibe, so when I wanted a beer I would just go to the Pilsner. I'll be curious to see what comes back into that space. Perhaps the ghosts of tweakers past continue to haunt that space to such a degree that nothing can grow there ever again.

Update: Getting off the J after work I saw that the Transfer is still serving them up, and a new Double Dutch Disco poster is in the window. I'll be keeping an eye open to see what I can find out about the ownership change.

Further Update: a good source tells me that Bronstein sold the bar behind the back of manager Shawn, then fired him. This has left many of the promoters in a moral quandry as they feel that they should pull out from the night, but still want to support the rest of the staff. Further drama unfolding in the gay bar scene . . . .