ABC Announces Special On-Sale Liquor Licenses for the City and County of San Francisco
Sacramento – Paul Tupy, director of the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC), announced authorization for the issuance of ten (10) new on-sale general licenses for bona fide public eating place in a hospitality zone in the city and county of San Francisco as authorized in § 23826.22 of the Business & Professions Code (BPC). For purposes of this section, a “hospitality zone” is defined to mean a single contiguous area designated by ordinance in the City and County of San Francisco that contains at least one million square feet of retail shopping space open to the public.
The city and county of San Francisco has designated the Downtown Hospitality Zone as the area bounded by 5th Street, from Folsom Street to Market Street; Cyril Magnin Street from Market Street to Eddy Street; Eddy Street from Cyril Magnin Street to Mason Street; Mason Street from Eddy Street to Ellis Street; Ellis Street from Mason Street to Taylor Street; Taylor Street from Ellis Street to Post Street; Post Street from Taylor Street to Mason Street; Mason Street from Post Street to Bush Street; Bush Street from Mason Street to Kearny Street; Kearny Street from Bush Street to Market Street; Market Street from 3rd Street to 2nd Street; 2nd Street from Market Street to Folsom Street; and Folsom Street from 2nd Street to 5th Street, including both sides of the streets at the boundaries of this area. (Pursuant to the San Francisco Administrative Code of Chapter 94C, Section 94C.1 and 94C. 2,)
A license issued pursuant to this section shall not be transferred for a price greater than the original fee paid by the seller or transferor and shall not be transferred between counties, nor shall it be transferred to any location outside of the hospitality zone or otherwise not qualifying under this section. Licenses issued under § 23826.22 are only for bona fide public eating places and authorizes the sale of beer, wine and distilled spirits for consumption on the licensed premises located in a hospitality zone in the city and county of San Francisco. A licensee that currently holds an on-sale general license for a bona fide public eating place that is in a hospitality zone shall not be eligible to apply for a license under this section for the same licensed premises.
From September 14, 2026, through September 25, 2026, the department’s San Francisco District Office will accept applications for the new original special on-sale general licenses at 33 New Montgomery St., Suite 1230, San Francisco, CA 95834 or at any other ABC office throughout the state.
Only one priority application will be accepted from any one applicant. A fee of $19,840 is to be paid when filing a priority application for a new original on-sale general license.
If the number of applicants is equal to or less than the number of licenses available, all applicants will be notified that they have 90 days to complete a formal application for their specific premises.
If the department receives more applications than there are licenses available, a virtual drawing will be held. To participate in such a drawing, an applicant must have been a resident of California for at least 90 days prior to the date of the scheduled drawing. Successful drawing participants will be notified that they have 90 days to complete a formal application for their specific premises.
Unsuccessful drawing participants will be automatically refunded their application fee (minus a $100 service charge) within 90-120 days of the priority drawing but will retain their priority ranking until the following year pursuant to Chapter 1, Title 4 of the California Code of Regulations (CCR) § 69.3 (c). Successful participants who file a formal application for a priority license who then decide to withdraw their application will be entitled to a refund in accordance with BPC § 23320 and 23959. If an applicant owes money to the California taxing agencies, a claim against the priority application fee may be made by the taxing agency. If such a claim is made, the amount owed will be deducted from the priority application fee at the time of refund and remitted to the taxing agency.
Applicants are encouraged to file their applications early in the filing period to avoid a lengthy wait.
In the coming weeks, additional information and instructions regarding applications for original and intercounty transfer of general licenses will be made available on ABC’s website.
It is important to note that new priority regulations have been instituted. To view the priority regulations, the Approved Regulations page and scroll down to Priority Registration Drawings.
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