Commission Revives the Mab as North Beach Punk Landmark Changes Hands
Entertainment Commission • San FranciscoOctober 6, 2026
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San Francisco's Entertainment Commission on Oct. 6, 2026, handed a storied North Beach punk venue and its next-door sister space to a new owner with a nonprofit-backed community arts model. All four permits on the agenda passed 5-0, including a Fisherman's Wharf ice rink that will play music daily through mid-January. Staff also reported that noise complaints at the city's largest permitted festival had fallen sharply.
- Mabuhay Gardens and Broadway Studios permits transfer to Tom Watson, 5-0, with security and ID-check conditions
- Fisherman's Wharf ice rink wins 10-week sound permit, with music until 12:30 a.m. on New Year's Eve
- Portola noise complaints drop 64% to 56 in the festival's fifth year
- Monkey Brains gets a violation notice after a band far exceeded its sound limit
The Mab Gets a Second Act
The basics: A Place of Entertainment (POE) permit lets a business regularly host live entertainment. When a venue changes hands, the new owner must get a new permit. Fame Venue held permits at 443 Broadway (Mabuhay Gardens, known as the Mab) and 435 Broadway (Broadway Studios) for decades.
Why it matters: One of North Beach's best-known punk venues stays active under an owner promising a community arts hub rather than a nightclub-only operation.
Where things stand: Watson asked for indoor entertainment from 6 a.m. to 2 a.m. at both spaces. He also asked for outdoor amplified sound at the front of each business from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m., capped at six hours a day.
Deputy Director Kaitlyn Azevedo reported no opposition. One neighbor letter suggested sound mitigation, but she said the neighbors had since come around. "I saw an email come through yesterday that showed that the neighbors are now in full support of the application because the applicant has been in direct contact with them," said Deputy Director Kaitlyn Azevedo.
Staff recommended at least one security guard on site during entertainment, a guard at the front door and ID checks. Broadway Studios already has an internal sound limit, and SFPD Central Station added no conditions. Azevedo explained that the two spaces need separate permits because they hold separate business account numbers and liquor licenses, though they share an owner and a building.
The pitch: "Hello, my name is Tom Watson, and I'm helping to bring back the Mab," said Tom Watson, the applicant. He named the Whole Earth Catalog as his nonprofit partner and cited the Point Foundation and a letter of support from the North Beach Neighbors Association.
His plans include a museum, a coffee shop, a community print club, a vinyl listening room and a music school next year. Current programming includes jazz-funk on Mondays, swing dancing on Wednesdays and monthly punk lineups. He said thrash band Exodus finished its global tour at the venue, which also hosted a 50th anniversary Flipper show. The Broadway sign will be relit on Oct. 15.
Watson also tied the venue to the political moment. "The MAB was born during times of incredible strife, and I think now we are in those same times where democracy is under threat," said Watson.
From the dais: Commissioners welcomed the venue's return. One commissioner thanked Watson "for your investment in such an important and historic space for the city." A would-be public commenter, Matthias Drago, was not allowed to speak because he works with the venue. Commission rules bar employees from speaking during public comment.
Decisions and stakeholder impacts: The commission granted both permits with staff conditions after finding that none of the denial criteria under Police Code Articles 15.1 and 15.2 applied (For: 5, Bleiman, Wang, Davis, Poggio, Thomas; Against: 0; Absent: 1). Watson now controls both entertainment spaces in the building. North Beach neighbors get a single, reachable operator and security commitments. Arts nonprofits gain a physical home on Broadway.
What's next: The Broadway sign relighting is set for Oct. 15. Watson said the music school will open next year.
Ice Rink Brings Holiday Soundtrack to the Wharf
Why it matters: A new winter attraction comes to a tourist district that one public commenter said is still recovering from the pandemic. It will play music daily for about 10 weeks.
Where things stand: San Francisco on Ice LLC asked for a one-time outdoor amplified sound permit for a rink in the Triangle Lot at Fisherman's Wharf. The rink would stream prerecorded music daily from Nov. 4, 2026, through Jan. 18, 2027. Hours run noon to 10 p.m. on "value days" and 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. on "standard days," with New Year's Eve running until 12:30 a.m.
"The prerecorded music will be ambient to enhance the ice skating experience," said Projects and Communications Manager Rice. Rice reported no neighbor opposition. The Port of San Francisco's approval is pending its final special event license. SFPD Central Station did not respond within the review window, which staff treated as no concerns.
A false start: Applicant Peter Mott was absent when the item was first called. Commissioners voted 5-0 to postpone it until later in the meeting and took up the Broadway permits first.
The applicant's case: Mott, managing member of On Ice Rinks, which runs San Mateo on Ice, said he had worked for a year with the Port and the Fisherman's Wharf Community Benefit District. He said the hours mirror Union Square's holiday rink and that the area around the lot is virtually all commercial. "I actually went out 300 feet, even farther. Nobody, no residences at all within that," said Peter Mott.
He volunteered a mitigation: "What we'd like to do at 10 o'clock is actually turn off the 2 speakers that face back towards the city," said Mott. Under that plan, only the bay-facing speakers would run until 11 p.m.
The other side: Concern was mild and focused on sound carrying across the water. "Just as long as Treasure Island doesn't get the Treasure Island again. But you're a lot quieter than Portola is," said one commissioner.
Public commenter Stefano Costolato urged approval. He said the pandemic left the Wharf desolate and unsafe for a time. "So Fisherman's Wharf has to reinvent itself, and it takes time," said Costolato.
Decisions and stakeholder impacts: The permit was approved with the Good Neighbor Policy and staff memo conditions (For: 5, Bleiman, Wang, Davis, Poggio, Thomas; Against: 0; Absent: 1). Wharf businesses gain a seasonal draw. With no homes nearby, the main noise risk is cross-bay sound.
What's next: The rink still needs the Port's final special event license before opening Nov. 4.
Noise Watch: Fewer Festival Complaints, Tougher Enforcement
Why it matters: The commission's sound mitigation work at Portola appears to be paying off, while inspectors are escalating against venues that ignore limits.
Portola: Executive Director Maggie Weiland called the festival "the largest event that we permit on an annual basis." It drew 45 sound complaints on Saturday and 11 on Sunday. Of those 56, 34 came from Alameda and the East Bay, 18 from San Francisco and four from unspecified locations.
"The 56 sound complaints from this year are down 64% from 154 in 2025 and down 75% from 224 in 2024," said Weiland. Staff will keep working with promoter Golden Voice on sound mitigation. Golden Voice has not announced a sixth year, which would again need commission approval.
Enforcement: Senior Inspector Andrew Zverina reported 99 311 complaints since the Sept. 15 hearing. At Monkey Brains, 933 Treat St., a Sept. 19 event drew three complaints. Inspectors measured the band at 106.3 dBA and 114.2 dBC, well above the approved limits of 94 dBA and 100 dBC. The sound engineer apologized but did not appear to be monitoring levels, Zverina said. The venue received a notice of violation on Sept. 23.
A staff member said Celeste, a venue with no permit, ignored an earlier notice of violation. Its owner did not respond, and the business declined to turn down speakers that could be heard outside. "We probably need to move into citation world because they're not complying with our permit requirements," said the staff member, who added that a Sept. 25 visit would warrant a citation.
81 Social Gallery: The Controller's Office upheld two citations against 81 Social Gallery at 81 Cedar. Those citations are among the grounds for a director's suspension that permit holder Mohammed Awadallah is also appealing. Commission Secretary May Liang will schedule that appeal hearing for later this calendar year.
Minor Items
- Innerbloom approved: The Polk Street bar at 1101 Polk St. may begin entertainment at 7 a.m. for morning run clubs, approved 5-0 on consent with no opposition.
- Calendar shuffle: With Room 416 unavailable, the Nov. 17 and Dec. 3 hearings are canceled and a Monday, Nov. 30 hearing is added.
- Seventh seat vacant: A nominee awaits the Board of Supervisors' Rules Committee. "We really feel it when we're down one," said Weiland.
- Minutes: The Sept. 15, 2026, minutes were approved 5-0.
- Hardly Strictly praise: Commissioners thanked Warren Hellman and the event's staff and noted its boost to small businesses.
Looking Ahead
The remaining 2026 hearings are Oct. 20, Nov. 3, Nov. 30 and Dec. 15. Staff may keep an early-January hearing depending on application volume.