El Rio s new mural, Virgils at far right. | Photo: Joe Kukura/Hoodline
By Jay Barmann - Published on February 23, 2021.
Two bars, two different fates. Over in Bernal Heights/La Lengua, next-door bars El Rio and Virgil s Sea Room, which almost share a backyard were it not for a fence, have arrived at diverging moments in this COVID year. 11 months after closing down in the initial wave of business lockdowns, El Rio has reemerged with a fresh mural on its face, serving to-go cocktails and food items and hoping to one day soon be able to open that back patio again. But meanwhile Virgil s announces it is closing permanently, unable to float any longer with the debt that small businesses citywide have been shouldering.
Virgil s Sea Room closes permanently while next door El Rio reopens hoodline.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from hoodline.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.