HUNTINGTON BEACH : Chain Proposes a ‘New Golden Bear’

Four years after the closure of the Golden Bear, once the hub of Orange County’s live music scene, a successor may be in the works.

The Planning Commission on Tuesday night recommended approval for a plan by the Peppers restaurant and entertainment chain to open a nightclub and restaurant to be called the Peppers Golden Bear a short block from the original.

If the City Council decides to support the commission’s recommendation, the club could open in August, said Ken Moon, Peppers’ vice president of sales and marketing.

The club would have a capacity of 650, Moon said. It would be part of the Pierside Pavilion redevelopment project downtown on Main Street at Pacific Coast Highway. Pavilion plans also call for a movie theater, restaurants, offices and shops. It is the centerpiece of the city’s downtown redevelopment project. The old Golden Bear fell victim to the city’s redevelopment plans, despite efforts by many residents to save it.

The original Golden Bear was, from the early 1960s, among the premier nightclubs for live music in Los Angeles and Orange counties, featuring top-name and also underground music acts. It remained until the city, invoking its power of eminent domain, ordered the club demolished. In arguing for the decision, city officials said there were complaints against the club, among them that club operators repeatedly violated fire codes by permitting crowds that exceeded the club’s capacity.

Peppers, at the city’s request, plans to incorporate the facade from the old Golden Bear into the design of the new club. City officials wanted the new club to be called the Golden Bear to fulfill a promise made to the residents who fought to save the original club. Peppers officials, however, say the owner of the former club has threatened to sue them if they use the name.

Two commissioners, however, see a potential for problems if the club is situated as proposed--on the east side of the pavilion, facing Walnut Street. There, its back would abut a condominium complex now under construction. In voting against the project, commission Chairwoman Geri Ortega said she was concerned about noise and that club customers might disturb the condominium residents.

Although it is being promoted as the new Golden Bear, Moon said his aim is for it to resemble the spacious, plush Peppers clubs in Garden Grove and the City of Industry rather than the more intimate, informal Golden Bear.

The Huntington Beach club would seek to book acts on the order of Natalie Cole, Tito Puente and the Stray Cats, similar to those that play at the Coach House in San Juan Capistrano and the Strand in Redondo Beach, Moon said. It would avoid acts that Moon described as “undesirable,” such as rap, punk or heavy metal performers.

So far, there has been no public protest from residents or business operators in the area.

The City Council will probably consider the project for final approval next month.