Marina del Rey Nightspot Maneuvers to Stay Afloat

Heartbreak, a nightclub making a second attempt in the Westside at re-creating the popularity it enjoyed in New York, is having more heartaches.

Club owners tried to reopen this week on a cruise ship in Marina del Rey in hopes of avoiding city permit problems, which had forced it to close earlier this year. The club had operated for three months at a North La Brea Avenue site.

But at Monday night’s opening, the club’s ship did not come in, literally.

The club had hoped to use the 200-foot-long, three-deck, 1,000-passenger Spirit of Los Angeles cruise ship, which normally departs from the Port of Los Angeles in San Pedro. But agreement could not be reached between the ship’s owner and the master leaseholders of at least two docks in the marina to allow the vessel to dock along Fisherman’s Village on Fiji Way. That left club owners scrambling to find other accommodations for the nearly 10,000 people who were sent invitations to the opening.

Smaller Ships

Club owners chartered three smaller cruise ships from Hornblower Dining Yachts, which operates out of Pier 52, just east of Fisherman’s Village.

The plan was to have one 90-passenger ship for dancing to recorded music, a 200-passenger ship for dining and dancing to live entertainment, and the third ship, also with a 90-passenger capacity, as a VIP lounge and game room.

The first boat left with less than half capacity. No one danced until the boat nearly docked, and then it was only eight people--six women and two men. The second boat appeared to reach its 200 capacity, but again, few were in the dancing mood, or even hungry. The third boat was canceled reportedly because it was too small, but by the time it would have left the dock there were few people waiting to board.

Spreading out the 300 people who initially showed up among the vessels left some club-goers, who were yearning for a packed, sweaty and loud nightclub, disappointed.

“It was the Love Boat from hell,” said one woman dressed in a short black leather skirt as she disembarked from one of the ships.

But not all the club-goers were disappointed.

“I thought they did a great job,” said Dianne Bennett. “It seemed like a lot of people were having fun.”

Richard Lewis, a partner in the club, was just pleased that they were able to put something together at the last minute.

“There was absolutely no way we could reach all those people to cancel,” he said. “We just found out late last week. We were scrambling up until we opened (Monday night). We didn’t want people coming to an empty parking lot.”

“We tried to figure out how not to do it,” said Lenny Berg, the club’s founder and principal owner.

Omen for Improvisation

The club’s opening was a harbinger of the night’s events. Attempting to christen one of the smaller yachts with the club’s name, a woman took several unsuccessful whacks with a bottle of champagne. Finally breaking the bottle over the bow, she proclaimed, “I christen you Hard ship .”

As the invited guests arrived at Pier 52 shortly after 9 p.m., they were given flyers, which explained the club’s problems.

“Due to a bureaucratic snafu between Spirit of Los Angeles and the Harbor Commission (with Heartbreak in the middle), we have been forced to change our plans. . . . “

However, Chris Klinger, deputy director of the County Department of Beaches and Harbors, which oversees the marina, said neither the commission nor county officials were involved in the club’s problems. Klinger said the ship’s owners could not reach agreement with at least two master leaseholders to use their docks. In addition, the marina has a longstanding policy against so-called floating restaurants or nightclubs.

Heartbreak had originally planned to keep the ship docked, allowing customers to board and leave throughout the night.

The flyer further said, “Commencing Monday, October 9, and every Monday thereafter, Heartbreak’s legendary ‘Monday Nite Live’ will be happening aboard the Hornblower (a larger boat) located at Dock 52. . . . “

However, Michael L. Shepard, who handles corporate entertainment accounts for Hornblower, said an agreement has not been reached with Heartbreak to charter one of its vessels. He said negotiations are continuing.

Shepard also said that, although his charter permit allows into the marina a vessel as large as the California Hornblower--a luxurious 183-foot-long, three-deck, 1,000-passenger cruise ship currently operating out of San Pedro--there are concerns by county officials about whether the vessel can safely maneuver in and out of docks along Fisherman’s Village.

“We are not going to do anything without checking things out with the county,” Shepard said. “Our relationship with the county is very strong, and no one deal is worth ruining that relationship.”

Although a signed contract is not in hand, Lewis remains confident that Heartbreak will once again rock and roll. Despite what the flyer said, Lewis is hoping to reopen by Oct. 16.

“Heartbreak is the comfort and the fun that we create,” he said. “It’s our mix of music, our friendly ambience. We couldn’t be creative Monday night, because we didn’t have the time. But we got enough positive response that we are going to give it another shot. We still believe we have a winning concept.”