Virgil's Sea Room closes permanently while next door El Rio reopens
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 announc...