Toronado, The Deluxe returning San Francisco June

Two longtime Haight Street venues are on track to return before July. The San Francisco Standard reported on May 31 that Toronado and The Deluxe are among five anticipated San Francisco openings in June, and said both aim to reopen by the end of the month on Haight Street. (sfstandard.com) The timing matters because both businesses have been tied up in separate comeback efforts. Toronado, a Lower Haight beer institution, changed hands in April after a contested sale process. (sfgate.com) The Deluxe, the music bar long known as Club Deluxe, has been working toward a relaunch under new ownership after closing in April 2023. (sfstandard.com) What follows is the clearest picture, as of June 1, of what is reopening, who is behind it and what still has to happen before customers walk back in. (sfstandard.com) ### Which two Haight Street spots are coming back? The San Francisco Standard’s May 31 June-openings list named Toronado and The Deluxe as two Haight Street venues expected to return by month’s end. The article described them as entering “new eras” this month. Toronado is the craft-beer bar on Haight Street that founder Dave Keene owned for 39 years, according to SFGATE. (sfgate.com) The Deluxe is the revived version of Club Deluxe, the longtime jazz-and-cocktail bar at 1511 Haight St. that shut in April 2023 after a dispute between the former operator and landlord, according to SFGATE and KRON4. (sfstandard.com) ### Who is taking over Toronado? SFGATE reported on April 21 that Bill Lewis, a San Francisco resident and regular at Toronado, is set to become the new owner with his brother-in-law, Wall Pringle. (sfstandard.com) The report said the deal followed nearly a year of uncertainty after an earlier would-be sale fell apart. Dave Keene told SFGATE that he wanted to “properly pass the torch,” and the report said he would remain connected to the bar as an ambassador. A news release cited by SFGATE said the transfer was built around “preserving everything that makes Toronado the Toronado,” with no immediate changes planned to staff, programming or direction. (sfgate.com) Wall Pringle brings beer-specific experience to the ownership group. SFGATE said he is a certified Cicerone and has worked as a bartender. (sfgate.com) ### What is the plan for The Deluxe? Christian Beaulieu, a former Club Deluxe bartender, is part of the ownership group behind The Deluxe revival, according to Haight Street Voice and SFGATE. Haight Street Voice identified him as co-owner in an October 2025 interview about the reopening effort. (sfgate.com) Beaulieu told Haight Street Voice that the room would honor its swing-era, jazz and blues history while broadening the calendar. “The calendar is going to feel familiar,” he said, while adding that the venue also wanted to “add to it.” (sfgate.com) Haight Street Voice’s current radio page says The Deluxe, at Haight and Ashbury, was “re-opening in just a few months,” reflecting the timeline described in the fall interview. The Standard’s May 31 list now puts that target at the end of June. (haightstreetvoice.com) ### Why has this taken so long? Club Deluxe closed in April 2023 after a prolonged fight involving the property owner and the prior operator, according to SFGATE and KRON4. Since then, reopening plans have surfaced more than once before the current ownership group moved forward. (haightstreetvoice.com) Toronado’s path was different but also unsettled. SFGATE reported that a previous proposed sale involving a cryptocurrency investor collapsed, opening the way for Lewis and Pringle to make a bid roughly a year later. (haightstreetvoice.com) ### What should readers watch next? June 30 is the practical deadline implied by the Standard’s report that both venues aim to reopen by the end of June. Until either business announces a firm opening date, that end-of-month target is the main public benchmark. (sfgate.com) Haight Street Voice has continued to feature The Deluxe reopening effort, and SFGATE has reported on Toronado’s ownership transfer. Those outlets, along with the venues’ own channels, are the likeliest places for exact service dates, opening-night details and any final changes before doors open. (sfstandard.com) (sfgate.com)