Club to Reopen but Won’t Sell Liquor

An Inglewood nightclub that closed its doors last fall after angry residents complained that it was disrupting the neighborhood will reopen Sunday as a family-oriented restaurant and entertainment spot run by a group of black business owners.

Recycling Black Dollars Inc., a group of about 1,500 black business owners from throughout Los Angeles County, signed a lease Wednesday to operate a restaurant at Joshua’s until early 1991, when the group hopes to be able to buy the property at 3228 W. Manchester Blvd., said Muhammad Nassardeen, president of the group.

Nassardeen said he envisions the new facility to be an entertainment spot for the entire community. The restaurant, which will operate without a liquor license, will be open during the day, whereas large gatherings such as dances and club meetings will take place at night.

“We want to wean people away from alcohol,” Nassardeen said. “We have to realize we can have a good time and enjoy ourselves without it. This place is for people who have a different style of living.”

Organizers are planning a community brunch at the new facility Sunday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. They plan eventually to feature performances by church choirs on Thursday nights. Friday nights will be reserved for college students and Saturday nights for members of Alcoholics Anonymous and Cocaine Anonymous groups.

Organizers are working out a plan to telecast dance parties for teen-agers on cable television on Saturday afternoons, Nassardeen said. The club also will be used for church gatherings, wedding receptions and parties for sororities and fraternities, Nassardeen said.

It will serve as the headquarters for Recycling Black Dollars, a corporation aimed at promoting black businesses throughout the area. The new facility does not yet have a name, but organizers said it will probably be called RBD Joshua’s.

The previous nightclub caused a furor soon after Elmo Joshua Sr. opened it with his son in December, 1987. Residents packed city meetings to demand relief from noise, traffic and parking problems.

The Inglewood city attorney’s office last February filed a criminal complaint against Joshua. It charged him with misdemeanor violations, including operating without a special-use permit, failing to obtain a certificate of occupancy, having a dance floor larger than permitted by law and violating several fire safety regulations.

In August, Joshua was fined $2,400 after pleading guilty to six counts of Zoning, Fire and Building code violations.

He closed the 12,000-square-foot club last October when the state Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control, spurred by complaints from residents, revoked his liquor license.

Nassardeen said he’s aware of the troubled past of the previous nightclub on the site, but is optimistic that the problems can be overcome.

Organizers have already made arrangements to share a parking lot with a nearby church. And invitations are going out to residents who live near the facility to a special gathering next Thursday.