33-year-old S.F. jazz bar closed for good after landlord conflict

The fracas follows a contentiousdispute over lease negotiationsbetween the bar owner and its landlord last year amid the pandemic’s disruptive impact on the live music industry.

It’s unclear what exactly happened between last summer, when Club Deluxesuccessfully negotiated a new lease agreementto stay on Haight Street, and now. The bar closed temporarily at the time for renovations — with customers frequently asking on social media for updates on when it would return — but it never reopened.

In her April 24 email to musicians, Wilde wrote that “we have spent the past 8 months trying to do tenant improvements in good faith the landlord will address the building maintenance issues, and offer a fair, and reasonable lease, so we can reopen. Unfortunately, neither of those things have happened.”

Supervisor Dean Preston, whose district includes the popular bar and who organized a mediation between its owner and landlord last year, said in a statement that there are “ongoing conflicts that have delayed and could threaten the reopening of Club Deluxe.” The supervisor’s office is in touch with Club Deluxe and the landlord, Veritas Investments, the statement reads. “We remain committed to doing whatever we can to make sure Club Deluxe stays in the Haight,” Preston said.

发言人Veritas会议提供了一个帐户licting with Wilde’s, saying in an email that the company has been “extremely supportive of a Club Deluxe reopening by living up to our part of the agreement with Supervisor Preston as well as making a significant financial investment into the retail space above and beyond that.

“We remain hopeful that Club Deluxe continues to be a part of the community for years to come, however we realize that there are factors outside of our control.”

Last August, the longtime music venue at 1511 Haight St. announced that it would close. Wildeblamed Club Deluxe’s landlord, writing in a letter at the time: “multi-billion-dollar real estate company that owns our building to allow a fraction of their portfolio to remain occupied by small businesses, artists, the unsigned musician, the carpenter, the waitress, and the single parent.”

Veritas, for its part, said it was not evicting the bar and had been “proactively trying to find a resolution with Club Deluxe for a year now, to keep them in the space.”

After the uproar over the loss of another San Francisco institution, Wilde said sheplanned to apply for legacy status在旧金山,希望它能帮助干腊肠e the bar. Preston stepped in and held a mediation between Wilde and Veritas. The talks resulted in a new lease agreement, thanks to a 2021 city ordinance that cancels back rent for small businesses that were forced to close during the pandemic, and in theannouncement last year that Club Deluxe would remain open.

Deborah Denehy, 75, lives two blocks from Club Deluxe, which for years was her “second living room.” She described it as a magical place where shows cost $10, eight-piece bands squeezed onto a tiny stage and swing dancing saw its revival. Denehy was confused and saddened by the latest news, she said, after last year’s closure whiplash.

“It’s like a second death,” said Denehy. “First they die, (are) resurrected, then they die again.”

It appears, however, that Club Deluxe could come back to life elsewhere.

“I am going to move forward,” Wilde wrote, “and do what I can to keep Deluxe together, and safely into a new space.”

This story has been updated to include a comment from Club Deluxe patron Deborah Denehy.

Reach Elena Kadvany:elena.kadvany@sfchronicle.comTwitter: @ekadvany