Friday will be the last night all floors of the Bonham Exchange will be open for partygoers, according to a finalized agreement between club general manager Joan Duckworth and the city.
Starting Saturday, only the Bonham’s first floor will be accessible — and then only with a maximum occupancy of 299 people — according to a copy of the document obtained by the Current.
Additionally, the city is requiring an approved third-party vendor to enforce the occupancy requirements by monitoring the club’s entrances. That vendor will log each day of operation and submit weekly reports to the San Antonio Fire Department.
The upside is that Duckworth will be able to utilize the Bonham’s outdoor space to make up for the lost occupancy inside, the agreement states.
City officials and the Bonham hammered out the temporary agreement because the club missed an October 2023 deadline for bars, restaurants and nightclubs to meet an update of the city’s fire code. Without such a deal, the city could have forced the closure of the long-running fixture of San Antonio LGBTQ+ nightlife.
The Bonham Exchange must adhere to the restrictions for six months, during which the city has mandated that the club must install an automatic sprinkler system on the first floor. If the Bonham does that by the deadline, then occupancy inside will be expanded to 346 people while it installs an upstairs sprinkler system.
In total, Duckworth has a year to get the Bonham Exchange’s fire sprinkler system up to code on all floors of the club or risks being shut down. What’s more, if a fire does break out at the venue during the duration of the agreement, Duckworth will be on the hook for paying any costs incurred by the city.
The agreement comes after City Council on Thursday tabled a three-signature memo proposed by District 1 Councilwoman Sukh Kaur, District 2 Councilman Jalen McKee-Rodriguez, and District 5 Councilwoman Teri Castillo.
The memo called for a discussion by the full council about giving Bonham Exchange an extension to get its fire sprinkler system up to code.
McKee-Rodriguez told reporters Thursday that the memo, rescheduled at that point rescheduled for a Feb. 12 discussion, will be withdrawn due to the city’s agreement with Duckworth.
In comments to KSAT earlier this week, Duckworth said the new sprinkler system will cost the Bonham Exchange roughly $550,000. However, Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones told reporters yesterday that she’s personally committed to helping raise funds to ensure Duckworth meets the deadlines outlined in the agreement.
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