In addition to jazz, reggae to rock - among other genres of music - are now performed at the venue, including bookings of local artists such as Jett Prescott and George Stanford.

A restaurant called "Verpilate's" was built a short walk from the ocean at 30 Pier Avenue in 1934, and it was converted into "The Lighthouse", a bar, in 1940 ("Café" was added to the official name only when the business was sold in 1981).

The club first began showcasing jazz music on May 29, 1949, when owner John Levine permitted bassist/band leader Howard Rumsey to start a recurring Sunday jam session on a trial basis.

West Coast jazz stalwarts Shorty Rogers, Richie Kamuca, Bill Holman, Bud Shank, Shelly Manne, and Jimmy Giuffre were also regulars in the early days.

From the mid-1990s, jazz slowly began to come back to the club, first on Sunday afternoons, then on a two-days-a-week schedule, with local artists such as Ray Pizzi, Michele Faber,[2] and Edmond Allmond.