High Life A WEEKLY FORUM FOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS : Putting Teens in Their Palace : Unique Nightclub in Anaheim Welcomes the Underage Crowd

At first it’s confusing, but the sign on West Lincoln Avenue is just part of the Palace’s befuddled history:

The Palace

Chinese Food

Dining, Cocktails, Dancing

Cloistered in the corner of a half-occupied shopping center, far from the traffic, is the Palace. It’s unique if only for one reason: While most other nightclubs snub those in the under-18 crowd, the Palace welcomes them.

“Why do I like it? It’s a cool place with cool people,” said Scott Chang, 15, a sophomore at University High School in Irvine. “But it’s also because there aren’t any other clubs to go to for kids my age.”

The Palace’s history began with Cliff Spiegel, owner of Beyond Sound, an audio and lighting systems company located in the same divided business unit as the nightclub.

“This side used to be a restaurant, can’t you tell?” he joked. “The original owners were remodeling the other side for a Vietnamese nightclub.

“I moved into this side about a year ago, then the owners started to have a whole lot of problems and ended up leaving, so I was stuck with the place. In figuring out what to do with it, I decided to open it up.”

But why for kids?

“Two things. I couldn’t afford a liquor license, nor did I want a liquor license, so the next best thing was kids.

“And I remember when I was young there were lots of places to go. Then, one day, it just died, probably because it got to be too much trouble and not worth the money. It’s really not profitable if you don’t get serious. I’m only half serious.”

But completely sincere, or enough so to open a dance club for teens.

“I like (the Palace). It’s a cool crowd, mellow and friendly,” said Jason Ho, a 14-year-old freshman from Villa Park High. “It’s one of the few places teens can go to meet people and have a good time.”

The Palace, which is open Friday and Saturday nights, has targeted teens between the ages of 15 and 19 as its primary customers. Admission ranges between $6 and $8 admission, and the crowds come from as far away as San Bernardino and Compton.

“It’s worth the drive up here,” said 15-year-old Nicole Brunner, a sophomore at Capistrano Valley High in Mission Viejo. “The music’s good and so’s the dancing. It’s fun to hang out with kids your age from other schools.”

Said Spiegel: “There are really no other places for younger teens to go. Look around. Try and name as many places as you can where teens can go and have it feel like a real nightclub--not a church or a school--but a place that looks legitimate, where they can dress however they like, dance, and the atmosphere. . . .

“We even have free food and serve virgin margaritas and pina coladas.”

Said Jennifer Rodrigues, 16 and a junior at Esperanza High in Anaheim: “The people are real friendly and out to have a good time. A lot of people my age are here because there’s nowhere else to go.”

Different promoters organize and put on the dances. John Ku and Fred Garde promote the Friday night shows, which feature dance music and draw a more eclectic crowd. Saturday’s shows feature hard rap music. The Palace can accommodate 500 people but mostly draws from 200 to 400, depending on the night.

“The parents really like the idea behind the Palace,” Spiegel said. “They think it’s great. They’re happy their kids have somewhere to go and that they know where they are, instead of roaming around getting into trouble.

“We have security guards. There’s also a metal detector, and everyone who comes in is frisked.

“We’ve had a few fights on Saturdays, but only within the last few months. Kids have always been the leaders of change--it’s part of growing up. Nowadays, it’s hard to change things, and kids fight for the wrong reasons . . . for fighting’s sake.”

Before the end of the year, the Palace will be only a memory of a good night’s dancing. Money has done a little two-step and another nightclub--this one with a liquor license and, thus, without teen-agers--will be opening up in its place.

Ku and Garde are hoping to open Club 2000 somewhere in Santa Ana, and plan to experiment with an “all teens” night.

“It’s worth a try,” Ku said of his plans. “Instead of hanging out at night and getting caught up in mischief, kids come to the Palace and have a good time for just a little cash. We’ll see how it goes.”