4 Valencia Street
San Francisco, Califonia 94114
(415) 863-4027
Martunis.YPGuides.net
Status: LGBT Bar
Previously: Motowerks, Lily’s
In Their Own Words: A different style every night. Jazz. Standards. Contemporary. Showtunes. Sing-a-long or sit back and enjoy our entertaining Piano Bar.
History
Summary
| Name | Dates of Operation |
| Martuni’s | 1996 – present |
| Motorwerks | 1995 |
| Lily’s | 1988ish – 1995? |
Details
Steven H. Rascher served as the 16th Emperor of the Imperial Court from 1988 to 1989 with Empress Lily Street. When he later bought a bar in 1991 on the triangle lot where Valencia Street meets Market Street, he named it Lily’s after his Empress.
As Emperor, Rascher inspired many changes for the Imperial Court, including suggesting to Jose Sarria that the court make an annual pilgrimage to the grave of Emperor Norton at Woodlawn Cemetery in Colma, and establishing Emperor’s Night Out where the emperor, who normally appears in male attire, goes out in drag for one night only to raise funds for charities.
Lily’s had a darkened back room where Rascher built a stage for drag performances. During drag competitions, guests received tickets with each drink purchase and used those tickets to tip the performers. The performer who received the most tickets won the evening’s prize. Justin Bond’s Kiki & Herb act reportedly premiered at Lily’s in the early 1990s.
Around 1995, the bar briefly became a leather bar called Motorwerks.
Skip Ziabron bought the bar in 1996, and it reopened on June 27, 1996 as Martuni’s, a piano bar. The back room, now a brightened gilt and velvet lounge, allows guests to belt out show tunes and standards accompanied by the bar’s pianists, but also hosts drag shows like Bijou and Katya Presents where, unlike most venues, almost all of the performers sing live.
Sources
Flanagan, Michael, “When Hayes meant gays: a brief history of the Hayes Valley neighborhood,” Bay Area Reporter, January 28, 2016.
Laird, Cynthia, “Former Emperor Steven Rascher dies,” Bay Area Reporter, October 10, 2013.
“San Francisco Bar Guide,” Queer Resource Directory, 1995.
Ziobron, Skip, Facebook post, June 27, 2014.
Location
4 Valencia Street, San Francisco