Permit OKd for Pop Concert Club
Plans to reopen the former Harlequin Dinner Theatre as a pop concert club moved forward Tuesday night when the Santa Ana City Council approved a conditional-use permit for the facility.
According to the permit application, the club would seat about 550 people and feature “national entertainment acts” in rock, comedy, rhythm and blues, jazz and country. The club will include a restaurant and full-service bar.
The club--to be dubbed the Rhythm Cafe--will be operated by a newly formed partnership called Musicsphere Entertainment, and a Halloween opening is planned.
The Harlequin operated as a dinner theater for about 18 years before it was reborn in December, 1989, as Hamptons, a pop concert venue. Despite receiving high marks as a venue from pop reviewers, the club closed in the wake of booking difficulties after about six months.
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