NEWPORT BEACH : City Decides Against Closing Nightclub
The City Council this week decided not to shut down the Bacchus nightclub, which has been criticized by police for lax security. The club’s owners have agreed to provide tighter security, close by 1:30 a.m. and limit dancing to the first floor to avoid losing their operating permit.
The club has six months to show that it is complying with the new security guidelines.
Police had asked for the restaurant and nightclub at 3505 Via Oporto to be shut down after officers responded about 50 times to calls of excessive noise, public drunkenness, drug possession and fights, Sgt. Andy Gonis said.
During a March brawl, an unruly crowd at the club freed three people who had been arrested and were sitting in police patrol cars.
Under the new agreement worked out with the city, uniformed security guards must be inside and outside the club.
The club, which opened in September, is also required to take in more money from food sales than from the sale of alcoholic beverages.
Management must pay entertainers a flat fee for performances rather than a percentage of cover charges or food and liquor sales. Officials said that would avoid overcrowding by eliminating outside promoters.
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