As a packed crowd sips freshly squeezed greyhounds under the mirrored ceiling of The Deluxe, Mitch Polzak’s rhinestone-studded suit sparkles in the light while he rips into the first guitar chord of a honky tonk stomper. The three-piece band tears through the tune with a rowdy authority, splitting the difference between surf and rockabilly, while Gayle Lipman, a longtime regular, pulls wallflowers out of their seats to dance.
It’s the opening night of the rechristened Deluxe, a Haight Street live music institution that sat dormant for several years until last Thursday night. It was one of the first venues Polzak played when he started gigging in 1999 — and he was one of the last to play there before the bar first closed at the start of the pandemic.
“It’s been a long time coming,” he hollered at the opening night crowd.“We’re glad you’re here tonight. You’re part of the musical history of San Francisco. And more importantly we’re all part of something that is right now part of the solution. Live music, good people, community, this is where it happens.”
Originally opened in 1978 as LGBTQ space the Deluxe Bar, the venue transitioned into a jazz spot in 1989 and was rechristened Club Deluxe, building on the legacy of one of San Francisco’s most musical streets. Before that, it was the original location of the bar the Gold Cane, which was established in 1926 before moving a few doors west in 1978 when its operators lost their lease. The 1511 Haight St. location has now been taken over by Christian Beaulieu, who tended bar there for three years before it closed, and Jay Bordeleau, founder of Hayes Valley jazz bar Mr. Tipple’s Recording Studio. The pair plan to host live music seven nights a week, with a new house band the Deluxe Jazz Collective every Monday night. They plan to take a “jazz plus” approach that will expand into genres like deep blues…