A new cocktail destination debuts in North Beach today called Long Weekend, and its menu and decor will change on a rotating basis, focusing on a single global city at a time.
Long Weekend opens Thursday at 270 Columbus Avenue in North Beach, the flatiron-shaped former bank building that was previously home to Italian restaurant E Tutto Qua. It's the latest project from the prolific, cocktail-centric hospitality group Future Bars, which launched two decades ago with the speakeasy-themed Bourbon & Branch. The group now has a dozen San Francisco bars to its name including tiki concepts Pagan Idol and Zombie Village and FiDi spots Rickhouse and Ginger's, as well as one in Berkeley, Tupper & Reed.
Long Weekend becomes number 14 in their portfolio, and the concept is one that will be ever-changing, at least every nine months. As the Chronicle reports, the first theme will be Havana, with mojitos, daiquiris, and other Cuban cocktails on the menu, and a soundtrack on the speakers that includes snippets of street life and conversations in Spanish, as well as mambo, salsa, and cumbia music.
Sadly, there won't be any Cuban rum on offer, due to the US embargo, but there will be Havana Club (which is made in Puerto Rico), and house blends of white and dark rums that are meant to mimic the flavors of aged Cuban rum.
The modestly sized main bar area, with some tables and just 12 bar seats, is joined by two mezzanines — one, dubbed El Horizonte for this concept, can be reserved for parties of up to 12. And there is a basement level as well, in the bank's former vault, which is being called La Boveda, and will be used for reservations and private events. The space also features graffiti'd walls and wheatpaste street art inspired by Havana.
While walk-ins are welcome at Long Weekend, the place will, as at Bourbon & Branch and other Future Bars locations, encourage reservations, which will offer guests two specific cocktail experiences. At the main bar, guest will "enjoy all that combines to be the delightfully grand Havana bar experience." But you can also reserve a space for two or more in La Boveda, where the experience "offers an insight into the underground of present-day Havana, with its youthful, artistic edginess, unchecked musical latitude, and inherent provocations." (Per the Chronicle, expect reggaeton.)
All reservations can be made for one-and-a-half- or two-hour blocks, and are time-limited.
Future Bars founder and CEO Brian Sheehy tells the Chronicle that the plan is to completely change the decor and menu after a nine-month stint in with the Havana theme, and the next theme will also focus on a cocktail-loving city somewhere around the globe, though he won't say what's next on the list.
The rotating menu concept has been a signature of the acclaimed Trick Dog in the Mission, with a menu change happening every six months, and cocktails focused on inventiveness and unique inegredients — and no changes to the decor. This rotation sounds like it will be more focused on recreating classic cocktails and using sprits that come from specific countries and cities.
Long Weekend - 270 Columbus Avenue - Opening October 23 - Reservations here
