NIGHTLIFE : Old Enough to Groove : A Few Clubs Offer Dance Floors to Those Under-21 Patrons Usually Relegated to Limbo

You want to vote? Join the military? Glad to have you. Take a few turns on the dance floor? Fat chance, bud.

Despite their status as legal adults, men and women between the ages of 18 and 20--at least those who don’t have a good fake I.D.--are met mostly with closed doors when they go looking for a place to dance. Sure, there are the amusement parks, but how often can you drop twentysomething bucks just to (pardon the antique terminology) boogie down?

There are, however, at least three local nightspots where the under-21 crowd can share music, dance, romance--in fact, everything but alcohol--with the older set. Not surprisingly, each of the three clubs--Marbles Dining and Escapades in Anaheim, Kokomo’s Bar and Grill in Irvine and Bentley’s Tavern in Long Beach--is within a few minutes’ drive of a college campus, and a large part of the clientele is students. A fourth club, The Palace in Anaheim, caters exclusively to high school students.

* The Palace:

This building leads a double life. By day, it’s a sound and lighting business that serves the nightclub and restaurant trade. But on Friday and Saturday nights, the space takes on a more glamorous persona, drawing high-schoolers from Irvine to Ontario, said owner Cliff Spiegel, who opened the club almost a year ago.

They pour only soft drinks at The Palace, and you won’t find any of the more libido-stimulating special events hosted by other clubs, but there are plenty of danceable tunes, a live deejay, a free Mexican-style buffet, mirrored walls and flashing lights--in short, all the trappings of a traditional night club, said Spiegel, without booze. Customers, who range in age from 14 to 18, have even adopted a dress code that Speigel dubs “tragically trendy.”

3150 W. Lincoln Ave., Anaheim. (714) 626-0255. Hours: Friday and Saturday only, 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. Cover: $6 on Friday, $8 on Saturday.

* Marbles Dining and Escapades:

Once they’re ready for an older crowd, dancers can move across town to Marbles, where the clientele is roughly 50% college students.

“When you hit college, you become more aware of the clubs; you like to dress up and meet people from out of your high school clique,” noted owner Kevin Young, a 20-year veteran of the club and restaurant business who opened Marbles with his wife, Shirley, last fall. Rancho Santiago College freshman Maria Larrison put it more candidly: “It’s a place where girls go to check out guys, and guys go to check out girls.”

To help patrons break the ice, Marbles has a Tuesday night matchmaking service called “Two for Tuesdays.” Interested guests fill out short information cards at the door, and throughout the evening, the club’s seven video monitors act as electronic yentas, flashing eligible patrons’ pictures, initials and interests. Apparently, it works. At least one couple who met this way reportedly later celebrated their wedding with a reception at the club.

Things heat up a bit on Wednesday nights, when the club has a bikini contest judged by a Playboy magazine representative. Winners receive $300 cash prizes and compete for a grand prize of $2,000. On Thursdays, there’s a male dance show. Marbles is a restaurant and sports bar by day, and it serves a variety of hot foods during the nightclub hours. A disc jockey plays Top 40 tunes every night except Tuesday, when oldies from the ‘60s, ‘70s and ‘80s are featured.

But despite all the fun and games, the Youngs are serious about under-age drinking. Under-age and of-age patrons receive differently colored hand stamps, and an employee cruises the floor all evening on the lookout for violators. Guests who try to alter or wash off their stamps are not served at all, said Young, “even if they look 35.” As an added incentive, employees who catch an under-age guest drinking or using a fake I.D. are given $1 per offender. Bartenders also pour free nonalcoholic drinks to designated drivers.

1160 N. Kraemer Blvd., Anaheim. (714) 630-0121. Open to those over 18 Monday through Saturday, 8 p.m. to 2 a.m. Cover: free on Monday and Tuesday; free Wednesday with college I.D., $2 for non-students; Thursday, $3 to $6; Friday and Saturday, $10 for under 21, $5 for over 21.

* Kokomo’s Bar and Grill:

With its two dance floors and a capacity of well over 400, Kokomo’s in Irvine is about twice the size of Marbles, but the format is similar. The club is open to those 18 and over every night except Sunday and Tuesday. It features a male revue on Saturday night, with after-show dancing hosted by KEZY disc jockey Mark the Shark.

Specialty nights and giveaways are a big draw at Kokomo’s, helping to bring in customers from as far as Los Angeles and San Clemente, said marketing and promotions director Felicia Knight. On Wednesday, KROQ-style music is king, and dancers can win tickets to concerts. Thursday guests can take home certificates for Clothestime shopping sprees, and during ski season, lift tickets and credit for ski rentals from local resorts (the club has a weekly “party bus” during the season). Kokomo’s VIP passes, good for discounted or free admission to the club, are handed out liberally, Knight said.

Kokomo’s, which serves lunch and dinner during meal hours, offers a complete snack menu until 10 p.m. One of the club’s three bars serves tacos until closing.

17927 MacArthur Blvd., Irvine. (714) 250-1077. Open to 18 and over Monday, Wednesday and Thursday from 8 p.m. to 2 a.m.; Fridays and Saturdays till 4 a.m. Cover: Mondays, $5; Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, $10 for under 21, $5 for over 21; Saturday, $10 till 9 p.m., after 9 p.m. it’s $10 for under 21, $5 for over 21.

* Bentley’s Tavern:

Sundays, a.k.a Club Fizz nights, are the only evenings open to under-21s at Bentley’s Tavern in Long Beach, but manager John McLaren says the community’s response has been “just ungodly.” A wait of 40 minutes to two hours to get in is not uncommon, he said, adding that the management may add another Club Fizz night if the popularity holds.

The activities begin at 8 p.m. with California Heat, a male dance show. Club Fizz continues until 2 a.m. with a deejay and recorded music. A bar menu, including barbecued chicken and fries, is served all night. (Bentley’s, by the way, also operates a club in Huntington Beach that does not currently offer the Club Fizz program.)

“This is just a totally different environment than a college dance,” McLaren said. “One of the reasons we started this is because for a lot of people (under 21), there’s nothing to do. They’re stuck drinking at someone’s house or in the car. Here they can’t drink, but they can have a great time with a crowd they enjoy being with.

“It gives your whole community a chance to come out and enjoy life instead of sneaking out to parties where parents aren’t home.”

6251 Pacific Coast Highway, Long Beach. (213) 594-6775. Open to 18 and over on Sunday nights only, 8 p.m. to 2 a.m. Cover: $7 for under 21; $5 for 21 and over.