Golden Bear Nightclub Marked for Demolition

Orange County’s oldest and best known concerts nightclub, the Golden Bear in Huntington Beach, will be demolished Friday unless the club’s owners can persuade a federal bankruptcy judge to save the building, owner Richard Babiracki said Wednesday.

At a hastily called press conference at the downtown club, Babiracki, who shares ownership of the club with his brother Charles, said a request for a temporary restraining order to prevent the landlords from taking possession of the property was denied Monday by U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Peter Elliott.

Babiracki said he “would seek additional relief” in bankruptcy court to prevent the Golden Bear’s destruction but would not specify what that action would be. But unless Elliott acts today, the Babirackis will be legally required to vacate the club.

Babiracki said he is looking at other possible Orange County locations for the club but would not elaborate.

The Golden Bear has played a major role in Orange County music history over the last 25 years, hosting numerous rock, folk, blues and comedy performers including Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix, Steve Martin, Linda Ronstadt, B.B. King, Men at Work, Huey Lewis & the News and others.

The Babirackis, who lease the building that houses the Golden Bear for about 17 cents per square foot, were served on Jan. 24 with an order requiring that they vacate the building by Wednesday.

Babiracki said the building’s owners, Richard Schwartz and Gwendolyn Tubach, intend to raze the nightclub Friday. Schwartz, who is president of Huntington Pacifica Development Co., which is responsible for the city’s downtown redevelopment plan, was out of town Wednesday and could not be reached for comment. Neither Tubach nor her attorney, Robert Jacobs of El Toro, could be reached Wednesday for comment.

The vacate actions stem from the Golden Bear’s bankruptcy proceedings, filed last April, in which the Babirackis sought protection and reorganization of various debts under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. Under the proceedings, the Babirackis lost their lease and were ordered out of the location by Dec. 26.

Babiracki said guitarist Robin Trower’s sold-out concert Wednesday, the first of two nights at the Golden Bear, was to be held as scheduled. But Babiracki said he didn’t know whether Trower’s performance tonight would take place.