It’s time for “corporate scoundrels” to face the consequences of their inactions.
That’s what one public commenter told the San Luis Obispo City Council on April 1 when speaking about the forced eviction of Bang the Drum Brewery, a local hot spot for beer, trivia, and karaoke.
Although it wasn’t on the agenda, residents requested that the City Council take “creative” measures to save the brewery’s current location at 1150 Laurel Lane, saying it was part of the community’s fabric and a safe space for the LGBTQ-plus community. Calling the eviction a “blindside,” business owners and residents asked the city to change its policies when it comes to tenant protection.
According to a March 10 notice from the SLO Community Development Department, the warehouse on Laurel Lane was deemed unsafe for occupancy and considered “neglected” by the property owners, Laurel Creek LLC. The property is marred by unfinished exteriors, dirt roads, and large potholes.
SLO City Fire Chief Todd Tuggle told New Times that about five years ago, Laurel Creek purchased the warehouse on Laurel Lane in hopes of converting the space from industrial to commercial and residential. The property now houses Bang the Drum and SLO City Church, among other residences and businesses.
“Although ambitious, [it] seemed like a really good project for the community,” Tuggle said. “Over the course of the last five years, we’ve worked really closely with the property owner as they’ve pulled permits, tried to get work done, leased out spaces, and so we issued temporary certificates of occupancy.”
But over the past two or three years, Tuggle said, the city has seen Laurel Creek’s movement on building renovations become less and less productive.
“It progressed to the point that in October of last year, there had been so little work done that we essentially deemed the structure an abandoned worksite, or abandoned construction site,” he said. “The building itself had continued to deteriorate. The site conditions out there continued to deteriorate and then work ceased.”
The city did not issue Laurel Creek a new temporary certificate of occupancy in October, he added. The LLC did work with the city to get it back in January, Tuggle said. But no further work was completed on the property from then through March.
“That prompted the city to declare to this property owner that your building is uninhabitable, and that prompted the March 10 notice,” he said.
According to the notice, tenants were notified that they had until April 9 to vacate the premises before the property owners would be issued fines of $100 per day.
New Times was unable to reach Laurel Creek for comment, and as of April 9, its website was unavailable.
Tuggle said that situations like this aren’t infrequent. However, he added that he couldn’t recall anything happening at this “scope and scale” before.
Bang the Drum Owner Noelle DuBois said she was shocked when she heard about the eviction notice and that Laurel Creek had never notified them of the construction and safety issues. As far as she was concerned, she thought the brewery had permanent occupancy.
This isn’t the first time Bang the Drum has moved, she said. Its previous location at 960 Orcutt Road was sold and renovated in 2019, but that time they knew they needed to look for a new space.
“It came to the end of our lease, and they sold the property, but we were aware of what was happening, and so we had lots of time to prepare and look, so it’s a different situation,” DuBois said. “It’s been quite a journey going from kind of panic to hope, to despair, to kind of fire and feeling—like we’re going to take whatever control we have back and figure this out.”
At the April 1 City Council meeting, City Attorney Christine Dietrick said the city couldn’t legally have interfered with the project by speaking directly to the tenants—that it was the property owner’s responsibility based upon contractual relationships.
“We would hope the property owner is fulfilling those obligations,” Dietrick told the council.
Speakers defended Bang the Drum, saying they were aware the city was acting out of concern for the safety of its residents but that it shouldn’t punish the tenants for the inactions of larger companies.
“We had no idea,” one employee said, adding that the city’s policy had “failed” the brewery.
“We know public safety is a burden you carry,” owner DuBois told the council, saying that it’s the “wholesome” small business that shields larger companies’ “unethical business” practices.
Another speaker, Jojo, said the brewery is a pillar of the queer community, and its presence is powerful and meaningful for those struggling to feel like they fit in.
Resident Barry Price told the council he saw the eviction as “unjustifiable.”
“What’s really galling to me is this emerging narrative that it’s the small businesses … who have to pay the price when it’s the criminal corporate landlords who should be held to account,” he said.
DuBois told New Times she felt incredibly supported at the April 1 City Council meeting.
“That feeling of having so much support behind us has felt really wonderful,” she said.
DuBois said they intend to stay at the current location until May 9, and Laurel Creek said it would pay the fees. She said that company representatives also told her they were actively working to save the building, but she’s not so sure.
“We don’t really know how that will pan out, because we’re hopeful that they’re saying that. But at the same time, this project has been abandoned for so long,” she said. “So, at this time, we’re hoping that something happens, but we’re also still keeping all of our options open, because we don’t know.”
DuBois said she doesn’t want to move again until she finds the perfect spot.
“We don’t want to put the work and time and huge amounts of money into doing that unless it feels perfect and worth it at this point, a third time, right?” she said.
And even if the brewery is displaced, especially during Pride Month, she said they would even use temporary spaces for celebrations.
“We love to throw events that are really important to us and special to us. So, we’re looking at possibly renting out other venues so that we can still throw those events, if possible,” she said.
City Public Communication Manager Whitney Szentesi told New Times that the city knows the situation has been stressful for the tenants and it’s doing everything it can to connect them to resources.
“City staff visited the building [on March 10] and spoke with tenants, hand delivering the courtesy letter,” she said via email. “It’s important for people to know that the city does not typically do this, but, in this case, we knew that the tenants needed to be informed as soon as possible so that they could make arrangements.” Δ
Reach Staff Writer Libbey Hanson at lhanson@newtimesslo.com.
This article appears in Apr 10-20, 2025.