"So much has changed in San Francisco since we first opened the bar in 2000," says chef-owner Gayle Pirie of Laszlo, the interconnected sibling bar that faces the street next to the entrance of Foreign Cinema, which has been shuttered for a makeover since mid-February. "We knew it was time to modernize Laszlo so it could continue to serve its community in the best way possible," she says, adding that the main goal has been "to warm up the overall atmosphere," but still maintaining aspects that Missionites have always loved about the place, including that retro-red television.

The new Laszlo, which reopens to the public on May 12, will have a renewed emphasis on its DJ programming, with longtime residents including Felix the Dog, Saurus, and Delon spinning alongside young up-and-comers. Adding to their talents will be the vintage sounds from "Gayle’s own vinyl compendium, which spans over 50 years and includes much inherited from her grandfather."

With a brand new DJ booth now built in at the rear of the space, the DJ's won't be perched at the front of the bar where drinks came sometimes dangerously close to those turntables.

Also, there will be a new "film-inspired" cocktail list, as the team tells us in a release, as well as a new menu of bar bites that includes Madras curry fried chicken sandwiches, fried pickled mushrooms, and sea bass ceviche spoons.

As you can see in the photo above, the high-ceilinged loft aesthetic remains but with the addition of warm wood paneling. And the vintage movie posters adorning the walls will, of course, return, as will, projected movies.

The bar's name, after all, comes from the alias used by an iconic character in French cinema, Michel in Jean-Luc Goddard's Breathless.

Laszlo - 2526 Mission Street - Reopening May 12 - Hours will be Monday through Wednesday 5 p.m. to midnight, Thursday 5:30 p.m. to 2 a.m., Friday from 3 p.m. to 2 a.m., Saturday from 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. and Sunday from 11:00 a.m. to midnight