Club Deluxe will stay!

Dear Friends & Neighbors,

I’m writing to share some good news – after an all-day mediation on Monday, an agreement was reached between the owner of longtime Upper Haight establishment Club Deluxe and property owner Veritas Investments, allowing the jazz and blues club to remain in its home of more than 33 years.

Our community faced the potential of a tremendous loss with the closure of Club Deluxe. I am incredibly grateful that all parties came to the table to keep the doors open and we were able to hammer out a deal. It was true before, but even more so as we emerge from the pandemic – our arts and our artists are what make San Francisco, San Francisco. Long live Club Deluxe!

In early August, Club Deluxe notified patrons and musicians that the venue would soon be closing due ongoing disagreements about past and future rent. As with many venues citywide, Club Deluxe had experienced significant pandemic hardship, shutting down for a significant period in 2020 and periodically ever since, with waves of COVID variants disrupting their once bustling destination.

Our office then intervened, urging property owner Veritas and the Club Deluxe owner to restart lease negotiations that had derailed. Negotiations resumed in the days that followed. On Monday this week, we brought parties to the table for a City Hall mediation. Six-and-a-half hours later, a deal was struck.

 The resolution was made possible in part by our groundbreaking law, passed in July 2021, to waive certain pandemic-related back rent for small businesses. For the period that a small business was fully shut down by COVID health orders, the law effectively waived back rent during that time. Despite a challenge by landlord lobbyists, the law was upheld by a Superior Court judge in April 2022.

In addition, with support from Supervisor Preston and SF Heritage, Club Deluxe is applying to be added to the city’s Legacy Business Registry, which recognizes long-term small businesses in San Francisco, and provides benefits to businesses and their landlords to encourage long-term stability. On Tuesday, our office submitted a letter formally nominating Club Deluxe to become a Legacy Business, and we look forward to guiding them through the process to be added to the Legacy Business registry.

Club Deluxe is a one of a kind live music venue in the heart of the Haight Ashbury. It’s a gathering spot, a place where people share community, and join together in what makes us human. I am proud that we could help forge a path to keep the music going.

Sincerely,

Dean Preston