When news broke earlier this month that the Hearst Corporation had refused to renew the lease for Dave's Bar, 26-year-old downtown dive, a cry of sadness went up across San Francisco. But the owners of the bar set to go into the space claim that our fears are unwarranted, as they say that they "want Dave's current customers to be our customers."

The owners of The Lark, the bar slated to go into the space after Dave's closes at the end of the year, are FutureBars, the business group behind high-end cocktail joints like Bourbon & Branch and Rickhouse. Speaking to Hoodline, FutureBars partner Brian Sheehy says that "The big controversy about this transition is the city is going to lose one of its last downtown dive bars and that’s absolutely not the case. Our priority is to maintain Dave’s as a simple downtown bar that appeals to the same people that are going there right now."

Saying that The Lark is "not going to be a high-end craft cocktail bar," Sheehy says that "We’re told we cannot get rid of the chili and we cannot get rid of the hot dogs," but that the staff will change, with some coming "from their other Future Bars businesses."

And the new name? It's called The Lark, Hoodline reports, because "going to bars with your friends is a lark." You can see how larkish the new place is when it repoens in January, after the bar's current owner removes "any personal artifacts" and the place undergoes "a deep cleaning."

Previously: Dave's, Beloved Downtown Dive, Loses Lease After 26 Years
SF Chronicle Reports That The SF Chronicle's Owners Are Responsible For Killing Off Beloved Dive Bar Dave's