Angel Baten

On April 1, 1983 at the frightening start of the AIDS epidemic, gay businessman and restaurateur Steve Harris opened the doors to the Castro Country Club as a refuge where folks could gather and find community outside of the bars and clubs in the Castro. For 40 years, the CCC has saved thousands of lives from the grips of addiction and alcoholism from its humble perch on 18th Street, one block from Castro Street. Meet Me at the Club captures the history of early trans experiences, the role that the AIDS epidemic played in addiction and alcoholism, and the miraculous recoveries from hopeless states of mind and body in San Francisco. When 295 people die every day from overdoses, the story of how this beautiful community came together to survive and thrive, there's no more important time than now to tell this story.