Stopgap

Opened in April 2024 inside the SoMa building that once housed the SF Citadel, Stopgap is a turnkey kink venue that bridges San Francisco's leather history with its present-day scene. The fully accessible ground floor holds social areas, lockers, two bathrooms, and open play spaces fitted with hardpoints, while a staircase descends to a 3,100-square-foot basement dungeon stocked with equipment recovered from the Citadel's collection alongside newer pieces -- crosses, benches, tables, bondage chairs, cages, and at least 20 suspension hardpoints with floor mats for rope work. The venue is run by the AfterDark Events team, a POC, femme, queer, neurodivergent, and disabled-led organisation, and doubles as a rental space for third-party producers. Stopgap's own flagship is House Party, an inclusive open-play night held on the first Friday of every month, alongside weekly open-dungeon sessions, the Wrapt rope jam on fourth Mondays, Society of Janus play parties on second Saturdays, and rotating themed events such as Board Games & Bondage.