The island of swank in an ocean of Tenderloin known as the Black Cat jazz bar suffered a break-in and burglary in the wee hours Tuesday morning, and once police cleared the scene, people promptly broke back in and robbed the place again.  

A punch in the nose was followed by a punch to the stomach for the Eddy and Leavenworth Street upscale live music venue Black Cat late Monday night and early Tuesday morning. The Chronicle reports that the Black Cat was broken into and robbed twice in the same night, as police responded to the first robbery and break-in around 1:15 a.m. Tuesday morning, and the nightclub’s surveillance video shows another break-in and robbery occurred shortly after police responded to the first incident.

Yes, it so happens that this is the same Black Cat nightclub where Mayor London Breed’s maskless partying at a Tony! Toni! Toné! semi-reunion made national headlines in September 2021. But more relevantly, Black Cat is the one of the Tenderloin’s most upscale venues, staffed by veterans of Zuni Cafe, Chez Panisse, Beretta, and Blackbird, a true cocktail destination that is a crown jewel of the neighborhood.

“It was just a free-for-all,” Black Cat operations director Adam Chapman told the Chronicle, describing the wholesale theft of pricey champagne bottles, high-end alcohol, food, and even sound equipment and musical instruments.

“It was like Black Friday or something,” added owner Fritz Quattlebaum.

The initial break-in came courtesy of an individual with a skateboard who smashed the front window at around 1:15 a.m. Tuesday morning. That allowed six or seven  individuals to access the premises, though police arrived at the scene at approximately 2:25 a.m.

Unable to reach Black Cat ownership, police covered the front window with plastic and tape. That provided little deterrence to an additional batch of intruders shortly thereafter, as indicated by Black Cat surveillance video, and staff did n0t discover the damage until opening the facility in daylight hours Tuesday.

But the show will go on, at Black Cat, in fact, it will go on tonight. The Chronicle reports that the Damani Rhodes Experience performance with Tongo Eisen-Martin and VADIA is still a go, and the bar could probably use some love and support right about now.

Related: Inside Black Cat, A Stray Spot Of Swank In The Tenderloin [SFist]

Image: Kevin Y. via Yelp