The Academy SF, San Francisco

About The Academy SF

The Academy is a queer social club in the Castro at 2166 Market Street, founded in 2017 by Paul Miller and Nate Bourg as a membership space built around in-person connection rather than nightlife. Despite the private-club framing, membership is open to anyone who applies, and the club deliberately aims for a mix of ages, races and backgrounds. Programming runs from forums and talks to wine tastings, fitness sessions and social mixers, often in partnership with local nonprofits and community figures. The building has deep queer history of its own: the address ran as the gay restaurant-bar Cardi's in the mid-1970s, the leather bar the Balcony from 1977, and a men's club called the Academy through the 1980s. Beyond the social calendar, the space includes a rooftop patio, a daytime co-working lounge, a barber, and a spa, which makes it function more like a clubhouse than a bar. It's best suited to LGBTQ+ locals and longer-stay visitors who want somewhere to actually meet people and put down roots, rather than travelers looking for a one-night dance floor. If networking and community are the goal, this is the Castro's main address for it.