Save Riggers Loft: Help Us Fund Our Appeal

Help Save Riggers Loft — A Bay Area Treasure Under Threat

Riggers Loft Wine Company, a beloved small business on Richmond’s historic shoreline, is in a fight for its life. We are asking the community to help us raise $30,000 through a Go Fund Me appeal.

When the pandemic hit, we—like many others—were forced to defer rent just to survive. In 2022, we worked in good faith with the City of Richmond to negotiate a fair and reasonable repayment plan through the City Attorney. But that agreement was apparently never presented to the City Council.

While cities like San Francisco and Alameda forgave pandemic-deferred rent for their port tenants, Richmond took a different path—returning months later with a crushing demand: over $100,000 in interest and penalties, plus a threat to slash our lease by up to 18 years.

We tried to resolve things peacefully but were forced into litigation. The City opted to file an unlawful detainer to evict us based on claims that were refuted with hard evidence. Still, we lost the initial ruling.

But we’re not giving up!

We’re appealing, and our legal team believes we have strong grounds to win. But we need to raise $30,000 to fund the appeal. As a small, independently owned business, we simply do not have that kind of money and we cannot do this without your help.

Riggers Loft is more than a business.

It’s a community cornerstone—a place where Richmond locals and visitors from around the country gather to enjoy live music, locally made wine and cider, weddings, events, and breathtaking views of the San Francisco Bay. It’s also the last remaining public venue where people can still experience Richmond’s working waterfront—a space filled with history, heart, and hope, and is an irreplaceable link to the city’s past, present and future.

This fight is bigger than our business—it’s about protecting public access to Richmond’s shoreline and preserving a vital piece of the City’s history and identity.

Your donation--no matter the size--directly supports our fight to keep the doors open to a place embraced by so many: a home for local artists, small businesses, and a community that comes together to celebrate, connect and belong.

Please stand with us. Donate today. Share our story. Help save Riggers Loft.