Bang the Drum asks SLO for more time before eviction. ‘The best fighting chance’
After being told her popular San Luis Obispo brewery has 30 days to vacate its current home due to safety concerns at the property, Bang the Drum owner Noelle Dubois has a plea for the city: We need more time.
In an open letter to San Luis Obispo Mayor Erica Stewart and members of the San Luis Obispo City Council and Planning Commission, Dubois asked for city officials to consider allowing the business to stay at the Laurel Lane space through the start of the summer so it has more time to plan its next move and avoid permanent closure.
“The notice to vacate came as a complete shock to us, as the city’s concerns about safety were not previously communicated,” Dubois said in the letter, which was sent to the city on Friday and shared with The Tribune. ”While we understand the importance of ensuring safety at the property, the abrupt 30-day timeline feels like an insurmountable obstacle.”
Bang the Drum and other residents of the property at 1150 Laurel Lane — including SLO City Church, Cal Fire and coworking space Office Hours — were notified at the start of March that they would have until April 9 to vacate the building because it had been deemed “unsafe, unlawful, unfit for human occupancy and declared dangerous.”
According to city spokesperson Whitney Szentesi, property owner Laurel Creek LLC had not completed required construction work at the site, which made its tenants “vulnerable to necessary fire risks.”
“Because the necessary work has not been completed and the property owner has allowed the state of the property to deteriorate, the city’s chief building official declared portions of the building dangerous on March 10,” she said.
Laurel Creek LLC had not responded to multiple Tribune requests for comment as of Monday.
SLO brewery owner asks to stay open after eviction notice
The news came as a shock to the building’s occupants, including Dubois.
On March 19, Dubois told The Tribune it felt akin to “being adrift in the ocean.”
She said Bang the Drum planned to try to stay in the space as long as possible — even if that meant paying daily fines, which, according to a city notice, could go up to as much as $1,000 per day.
Now she’s asking the city for help and clarity on the situation.
In her letter, Dubois said losing the Laurel Lane space now would “severely impact our ability to recover from the substantial setbacks we’ve already faced” due to the ongoing construction at the site.
“Being forced to relocate is simply not an option given the resources and time required to rebuild,” she added.
In 2020, the brewery moved from its original location on Orcutt Street to the space on Laurel Lane.
Since then, Dubois said she has sunk significant time, effort and money into transforming the space into a warm and welcoming gathering spot for residents and visitors alike.
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Notably, the brewery has been particularly important for the LGBTQ+ community, a group that “is in increasing need of safe spaces,” Dubois said in her letter, noting the current eviction dates would cut off the business ahead of Pride Month in June.
Bang the Drum seeks city’s help
In light of this, Dubois said she was committed and “eager to collaborate with the city” to find safe ways to keep the business open through July.
This included potentially implementing occupancy restrictions and notifying the San Luis Obispo City Fire Department of events, she said.
“We understand there are aspects of this project that are beyond immediate repair,” DuBois said in her letter. “We now understand that, regardless of the cost to our business, a long-term future here is unlikely and/or inadvisable. Being able to operate May, June and July is the shortest amount of time that would give us and our customers the greatest impact.”
“That timeline would allow us to continue into our future with the best fighting chance,” she added.
This story was originally published March 31, 2025 at 1:44 PM.
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