Floridian Social Club to debut Friday

At long last, the Floridian Social Club is opening.

The big day is this Friday, and the band is the Black Honkeys, one of the bay area’s perennial favorites. Admission is free.

“The city is truly missing a venue that’s committed to live music, and not just a bar,” said Kevin Chadwick, who bought the 8,600-square-foot former State Theatre in 2018. “We’re feeling the pressure from our community wanting this to open. But the other side of it is, we want it to open too.

“Our staff is trained, and they’ve been working really hard for an opening, and I don’t want to delay it any longer. I want them to be able to go to work.”

Chadwick has spent more than a year renovating the 1920s-era building, gutting it and replacing everything from walls and floors to plumbing, and installing a state-of-the-art sound system. It has been an exhaustive and expensive process.

The Floridian Social Club received its Certificate of Occupancy in January.

“Our occupancy is approved for 812,” Chadwick said. “And we have re-set the theater to allow for as much as 300. The city says we can do 400. But honestly, safe-distancing capacity means space for 300. And the very cool part about that is, you get a great show without having a mob scene of people.”

The pandemic caused dramatic re-thinking of Chadwick’s original interior design plans. “We wanted to open responsibly, so that’s taken some extra time,” he said. “It’s real important that the public understand that we’ve taken every precaution we can to keep them safe. We have completely re-designed the floor of the theater, so everyone can enjoy it with social distancing.

“We created some banquette balconies on the walls, so that separates people for separate seating along the outer walls. And we ordered 35 tables for the main floor, and they’re all six feet apart. We’re being truly conscientious about being Covid-safe.”

As for the future, Chadwick has a list in his shirt pocket of the most prolific and popular bay-area bands. “I really want to be able to develop local musicians in our community,” he said. “That is really important to me.

“We have slated 30 or 40 touring acts, which is still our focus, but they’re just not touring today. So we are filling in with a lot more concentrated local talent.”

He likes the idea of giving local musicians badly-needed paying gigs.

Doors open at 7 for the Black Honkeys’ 8 p.m. show. Wear a mask.

Once again, there’s no admission charge, and bars on both levels will be open. “It’s going to be a special night,” Chadwick said. “There’s no doubt about it.”