Shelter from the strife

For nearly three decades, the Coconut Teaszer was a bastion of L.A. rock. Bands such as the Wallflowers, Alien Ant Farm and Weezer had weekly residencies at the Sunset Strip nightclub and each walked away with major label deals.

In recent years, however, the Teaszer sort of limped along. The club started losing bands to nightclubs with state-of-the-art sound systems and user-friendly environments. Despite its history, which included the first L.A. showcases by Nirvana and Green Day, the Coconut Teaszer was always a thrasher nightclub. The cavernous venue was desperately in need of some modernization, but it never happened.

So when it went up for sale last year, it was anyone’s guess whether the nightclub would find a new audience. With the debut of Shelter, however, all bets are on.

Shelter, the new name for the old Teaszer, has taken advantage of the beleaguered nightclub’s best assets and, in a few short weeks, the Hollywood club crowd has returned to the Sunset Strip. With such clubs as Nacional, Ivar and White Lotus relocating the scene to the Cahuenga area, the Strip’s been hurting a bit. But Shelter is making the most of its down and dirty club vibe.

Its owners -- Sam Nazarian, Reza Roohi and Costas Charalambous -- were in a difficult position. If they didn’t revamp the nightclub within a year, they would lose their licenses and have to start from scratch. So Roohi, a former owner of Sanctuary in Beverly Hills and Odessa in Laguna Beach, proposed creating an interim spot.

Rather than raze the Teaszer, he turned it into a punked-up version of the Thunderdome. The club is black throughout, with Gothic bondage art by artist Alan Daniels decking the walls. Waitresses in post-apocalyptic punk garb and black-blue glitter mohawks work the crowd. The club’s downstairs area, formerly the Crooked Bar, is now a VIP lounge and the outdoor patio doubles as a tented dining area, with food served from 7:30 p.m. till about 1 a.m.

“I wanted to create a New York feeling,” Roohi says. “I wanted people to dress how they want, be who they are and know they can come to Shelter and chill out.”

A cushy bed is located smack in the middle of the club’s main area for a bit of extra chillin’.

“The thing I love about it is it reminds me of Lower Eastside haunts,” says Patrick Bradley, a clubgoer who hangs at Shelter on Friday nights. “It’s like an old New York-style downtown club, and it’s raw, which is a refreshing change. And the downstairs room is always fun for a little debauchery.”

The downstairs VIP lounge is a key draw. With the Teaszer’s permits still in effect, the nightclub can be open after-hours. And the lounge has already been christened by the likes of Jennifer Lopez and Christian Slater, who hosted their own late-night bashes there.

“It’s definitely a fun place that my girlfriends and I like to go to,” says Shelter regular Ivy Mollencamp. “The music’s always good, the crowd’s always great, and I love the after-hours gig. You’re not always ready to go home at 2 a.m. and at Shelter, you don’t have to.”

Currently, Shelter is open Thursdays through Saturdays, with Friday night hosted by promoters Ron Bruland, Joey Yarbrough, Carlos Arguello, Brian Ling and Jovar Andrews, whose brother DJ Ruckus causes a big stir on the dance floor with heavy doses of old school R&B; and modern hip-hop. Andrews and Ruckus are cousins of Lenny Kravitz, and such celebs as Jessica Biel, Denzel Washington and Tara Reid have been spotted at Shelter on Fridays.

“I thought it was just a cool, kinda grungy spot, with a superb location -- almost a no-brainer,” says Bruland, who also co-hosts Thursday nights at Falcon on Sunset Boulevard and Saturdays at Ivar.

The irony of Shelter is that its garage-club look is only temporary.

“In coming months, I want to completely transition it,” says Roohi. “I’m thinking of painting it totally white and doing the opposite of what it is now.”

You know, maybe that’s not such a bad idea. In a town that runs through trends quicker than I can type “that’s so five minutes ago,” reinvention is excellent for business.

In the meantime, clubgoers like Bradley can’t get enough of Shelter’s funky stuff.

“The Mad Max thing is crazy. Any girl who can wear black ripped fishnets is OK with me,” says Bradley, referring to Shelter’s waitresses. “And the hairdos, it must take ‘em hours to get ready for work. But God bless ‘em, it works.”

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Shelter

Where: 8117 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood

When: Open Thursdays-

Saturdays. Hours vary. 21 and older.

Cost: Cover varies. Reservations required.

Info: (323) 654-0030