Future Bars, the hospitality empire behind some of San Francisco's most talked-about cocktail destinations, is taking bar-goers on a world tour—without ever leaving North Beach. Long Weekend, the group's newest concept, opened its doors this week at 270 Columbus Avenue with a novel twist: the entire bar will reinvent itself every nine months, transporting patrons to a different global destination with each iteration.
The first stop? Havana. For the next nine months, visitors can sip rum-forward Cuban cocktails while surrounded by the sights and sounds of the Cuban capital, according to San Francisco Chronicle. More than 100 speakers throughout the 900-square-foot space pipe in a carefully curated soundtrack mixing mambo, salsa, cumbia, and actual recordings of Havana street conversations. "If folks can speak any Spanish, they'll be able to listen in on these conversations while they sit with a mojito," Future Bars founder and CEO Brian Sheehy told the Chronicle.
A Bar That Refuses to Stand Still
The concept represents a departure from Future Bars' typical approach of creating permanent, theme-driven destinations. Rather than building elaborate speakeasies or tiki temples designed to last for years, Long Weekend embraces impermanence as its core identity. Sheehy explained to San Francisco Chronicle that the rotating concept is surprisingly practical: "There are no construction permits needed. We just paint and redecorate."
The flexibility comes from occupying the 1923 Italian American Bank Building, which sat vacant since 2020 when Italian restaurant E Tutto Qua closed. The building's bones—including the main floor, two mezzanines, and a former bank vault below—provide a versatile canvas for Future Bars' globe-trotting ambitions, as reported by SFist.
Cuban-Inspired Everything
For the Havana residency, beverage director Jayson Wilde has crafted a menu of rum-based cocktails that riff on Cuban classics. The mojito Caballito adds vermouth to the traditional formula, while daiquiris come in strawberry or coconut-pineapple variations and can be served frozen or on the rocks. Batched cocktails like the Cuba libre are available by the bottle or in buckets of five, according to San Francisco Chronicle.
The bar couldn't stock authentic Cuban rum due to the U.S. embargo, so Wilde developed custom blends of white and aged rums that mimic the characteristics of traditional Cuban varieties typically aged three to seven years. Even the Havana Club bottles found in the U.S. are produced in Puerto Rico rather than Cuba, the Chronicle reported.
Art plays a central role in the experience, with graphic artist Reynerio Tamayo's work highlighting Cuban rum culture currently on display in a dedicated gallery space. When the Havana theme ends, the artwork will be auctioned to benefit Tamayo's arts school. An animated panoramic display shows Havana's skyline shifting between day and night, complete with details like flickering lights at the Hotel Nacional, as noted by San Francisco Chronicle.
The Future Bars Empire
Long Weekend marks the 14th venue in Future Bars' San Francisco portfolio, joining an eclectic collection that includes speakeasy Bourbon & Branch, newspaper-themed Local Edition in the Hearst Building basement, and tiki destinations Pagan Idol and Zombie Village. The group launched two decades ago and has become synonymous with elaborately themed, detail-obsessed drinking establishments across the city.
Photo: Geri Koeppel / Hoodline
Pagan Idol opened in February 2016 in the Financial District at 375 Bush Street, featuring a 175-gallon fish tank, giant tiki heads carved by artist Crazy Al Evans, and a remote-controlled volcano. The bar was designed to take guests on a journey "from the belly of an explorer's ship" to a tropical island, complete with private tiki huts.
Photo: Hoodline
Zombie Village followed in late 2018 in the Tenderloin at 441 Jones Street, paying homage to a bygone Oakland tiki bar of the same name that operated near the original Trader Vic's from the 1940s through 1960s. The bar replaced Future Bars' previous American-themed venue Tradition in the same space.
Photo: Carrie Sisto/Hoodline
Nightingale debuted in December 2019 at 239 Kearny Street as the group's take on the "fern bar" concept popular in the 1970s and 80s. The venue featured custom Tiffany-style lamp shades and living-wall sconces by longtime Future Bars collaborator artist Ivan Lee Mora, with a cocktail menu focused on quality white spirits.
Photo: Hoodline
The Lark opened in January 2016 at 29 Third Street, taking over the former Dave's Bar. In a departure from their usual high-concept approach, Future Bars kept The Lark as a "simple downtown bar," maintaining the dive bar's chili dogs and basic beer selection while improving cleanliness and service.
Surviving the Pandemic
Photo: Courtesy of Cask via Hoodline
The COVID-19 pandemic hit Future Bars particularly hard. The group closed 14 bars across San Francisco when shelter-in-place orders took effect in 2020, including popular spots Devil's Acre and Bourbon & Branch. During the closures, co-owners Doug Dalton and Brian Sheehy forwent their own salaries to help keep staff employed, according to SFGate reporting from April 2020.
Devil's Acre, which had opened in December 2014 at 256 Columbus Avenue, temporarily converted to a Cask spirits shop location during the pandemic. The Barbary Coast-themed bar, designed to resemble a pharmacy-saloon with vintage remedy bottles and an elaborate historic wooden bar imported from Hawaii, has since reopened and currently operates Tuesday through Saturday.
The Long Road to Opening
Building out Long Weekend took more than two years, Sheehy told San Francisco Chronicle. Construction work in 2023 revealed significant water damage to ceiling walls and floors inside the 1923 Italian American Bank Building. The project then went on pause while the group relaunched its Berkeley Cask bottle shop and operated a holiday popup at Nightingale. Research trips to Havana to visit iconic spots like La Bodeguita del Medio and El Floridita added further delays. "We were going to rename the place the long overdue weekend," Sheehy quipped to the Chronicle.
The 900-square-foot main floor offers colorful tables and window counter seating, while a mezzanine called "El Horizonte" overlooks the bar and accommodates reservations for groups up to 12. The former bank vault has been transformed into "La Boveda" (Spanish for "the vault"), a 50-person private events space with its own bar, dim lighting, wheatpaste street art, and a reggaeton-heavy soundtrack mixed with Cuban party sounds, according to San Francisco Chronicle.
What's Next?
When the Havana theme runs its course in about nine months, customers will vote on the next destination. Sheehy told San Francisco Chronicle the next city will have a strong cocktail culture—but ruled out Dublin for now, citing the lack of draft beers at Long Weekend and a desire to stay focused on cocktails.
The concept represents another evolution for Future Bars' approach to themed hospitality. Rather than building permanent monuments to specific eras or cultures, Long Weekend embraces flexibility and change, allowing the group to explore multiple concepts in a single space while keeping the experience fresh for repeat customers.
Photo: Hoodline
Long Weekend joins other Future Bars locations including Bourbon & Branch at 501 Jones Street, Rickhouse at 246 Kearny Street, Pagan Idol at 375 Bush Street, Zombie Village at 441 Jones Street, Nightingale at 239 Kearny Street, The Devil's Acre at 256 Columbus Avenue, Local Edition at 691 Market Street, and gay bar Ginger's at 86 Hardie Place, which reopened in 2017 after an 8-year hiatus. The group also operates The Dawn Club at 50 Annie Street, which revived a 1930s-era jazz speakeasy, and maintains Cask bottle shops at multiple Bay Area locations including Berkeley's Tupper & Reed at 2271 Shattuck Avenue.
