Bar The Stud

We went to The Stud with friends and had a really frustrating experience. At the door, the person said the cover was $20, but also mentioned it was a “sliding scale” and you could pay more. That was confusing, so at first my husband thought it was $20 total for the two of us. I clarified it was $20 each, so we just paid $40 and were being polite and friendly. Out of nowhere, the door person asked if we’d been drinking. We said we’d each had a couple of drinks earlier in the night. We weren’t intoxicated or acting drunk. Suddenly we were told “you’re too drunk,” our money was pushed back at us, and we were yelled at to leave. It didn’t feel like a genuine concern about intoxication but more like an excuse to refuse us entry, maybe because we didn’t pay extra on top of the cover. We thoughts we’d ask the bouncer outside who was professional, but the person taking covers was aggressive and seemed under the influence themselves. At that point our friends who had already gone inside ended up asking for refunds too after seeing how we were treated. Even though I really want to like this place and support their business especially considering they just recently opened back up, I’ve just never really enjoyed hanging out there. I think it shows the amount of mismanagement at every level. I’m not sure this behavior is sustainable. People want to go somewhere they are valued and respected.

Drinks are extremely expensive (even for SF) and watered down. And the staff has a tendency to get messy. What really bothers me though is the poor ventilation

Went to their Wednesday Truck event. They charged a $20 cover just to get in, which already felt steep for a Wednesday. Then I found out there’s also a $10 drink minimum plus a credit card fee. If you’re already charging a card fee, why force a minimum spend too? What really bothered me was the lack of transparency — the bartender didn’t mention any of this until after I handed her my credit card. I opened the drink and took a sip, and then she told me about the $10 minimum and the card fee. I felt taken advantage of but didn’t want to make a scene. I ended up paying $18 total for just two Athletic IPAs (including tip). Just be upfront about the costs.

This summer, I was at the Stud for a pride event and someone stole my phone. I was informed afterward that there had been a black-out guy swiping phones there and they had dealt with it by making him leave. As in, they seemed to know who this individual was and let him leave with people's stolen phones. I'm just... gonna leave that information how there so people can judge how they feel about this for themselves.

I had a very disappointing and honestly upsetting experience at The Stud during Folsom weekend. My friends and I were waiting in line, and when my husband and I got to the front, the person working the door explained the cover charge as a sliding scale and told us it was $20. We were a little confused at first, thinking it might be $20 total, but quickly clarified it was per person and handed over $40. At that point, the door person suddenly asked if we had been drinking. We were honest and said we’d each had a couple of drinks earlier in the evening, but we weren’t intoxicated or behaving in any way that would suggest we were drunk. Out of nowhere, they told us, “this place isn’t for you, you’re too drunk,” shoved our money back at us, and began yelling for us to leave. It was jarring, aggressive, and completely uncalled for. It felt more like they baited us with the question just to have an excuse to refuse us entry. If we had been drunk, that’s understandable, but we were literally sober. Meanwhile, my friends had already paid and gone inside, but after seeing how we were treated, they went back to ask for refunds too. The bouncer outside was calm and polite and agreed that we were not drunk in the slightest. They said they were the manager, but eluded that the door person has final say. Huh? The person at the door was unprofessional, hostile, and was definitely under the influence of something. It was honestly wild to be accused of being too drunk by someone who didn’t appear sober themselves. I felt like I was trying to negotiate with a tweaker on the street. Very odd interaction. It’s unfortunate because I’ve always been an advocate to support local queer venues and was glad to see The Stud return. But if management allows their staff to arbitrarily deny entry, yell at customers, and make people feel targeted, that’s not a space I can support. My past visits here were already underwhelming, and this was the final straw. I won’t be back, and I can’t recommend The Stud to anyone.

Cool place.

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