After 60 Years, SF’s Renowned Edinburgh Castle Pub Closes

San Francisco’s Edinburgh Castle Pub has closed after more than six decades on Geary Street.

The Scottish-themed dive first opened at 950 Geary St in 1959 and became a hangout for writers, artists, and locals. Irvine Welsh even staged the U.S. debut of Trainspotting here before it hit the big screen. The bar also made cameos in So I Married an Axe Murderer and Venom.

Rumors of trouble had been swirling since 2019, when longtime owner Tay Kim listed the bar and building for sale for nearly $4 million, saying the neighborhood had shifted to “a different crowd, not a drinking one.”

Then came COVID. Business never recovered, and by 2023 the bar had stopped making payments on a $700,000 loan. U.S. Bank filed a foreclosure lawsuit earlier this year, and in June a court-appointed receiver took over the property. The building is now slated for auction, making it unlikely the Castle will return as a bar.

Once home to poetry readings, trivia nights, and live music, the Castle leaves behind a storied history in San Francisco nightlife.

Hat Tip: Broke-Ass Stuart, SF Chronicle