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Thief!

"We open at 2:00 every afternoon," says Morena Club owner Steve Billings. "But sometimes the bartender lets in regulars a few minutes earlier."

The front door was open at about 1:45 p.m. on Sunday, August 5, when "A stocky Latino man, about 5'10", 200 pounds, walked in with a hooded black sweat shirt.... He shut the front door. We never have the front door shut during the day. The bartender knew something was wrong and started to call 911. He reached into his backpack and pulled out a gun. He took her into the men's bathroom and zip-tied her to the handicapped rails. He asked her for the code to the safe and she told him she didn't know it. But he knew where the office was. And even though it's hard to believe, he knew what the [safe] code was."

Billings won't disclose how much was taken from the safe.

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"[The bartender] wiggled free and went across the street to O'Connell's to call the police." Billings says police have leads but have not made an arrest.

"I had nine cameras installed the next day. Now, every day we open with a minimum of two people."

How did the thief get into the safe?

"I know it could have been an inside job, but I doubt it. It could have been that the safe was left open from the night before. I heard that there is a generic brand of safes you get at Costco where if you know the default code you can open all the safes."

Not because of the crime, Billings has bought and is remodeling the old site of Buster Daley's in North Park, where he intends to bring bands. (He replaced bands with DJs at the Morena Club two years ago.)

"It seems like everybody and their grandmother is opening a cocktail lounge with DJs. I see live music coming back.... The nearest bar [in North Park] is Scolari's Office, which is very small, very loud.... I need to fill a bigger bar." That bar -- scheduled to open September 7 -- will be named U-31.

On Wednesdays, the Morena Club hosts a Tribe of Kings, DJs who spin reggae.

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"We open at 2:00 every afternoon," says Morena Club owner Steve Billings. "But sometimes the bartender lets in regulars a few minutes earlier."

The front door was open at about 1:45 p.m. on Sunday, August 5, when "A stocky Latino man, about 5'10", 200 pounds, walked in with a hooded black sweat shirt.... He shut the front door. We never have the front door shut during the day. The bartender knew something was wrong and started to call 911. He reached into his backpack and pulled out a gun. He took her into the men's bathroom and zip-tied her to the handicapped rails. He asked her for the code to the safe and she told him she didn't know it. But he knew where the office was. And even though it's hard to believe, he knew what the [safe] code was."

Billings won't disclose how much was taken from the safe.

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"[The bartender] wiggled free and went across the street to O'Connell's to call the police." Billings says police have leads but have not made an arrest.

"I had nine cameras installed the next day. Now, every day we open with a minimum of two people."

How did the thief get into the safe?

"I know it could have been an inside job, but I doubt it. It could have been that the safe was left open from the night before. I heard that there is a generic brand of safes you get at Costco where if you know the default code you can open all the safes."

Not because of the crime, Billings has bought and is remodeling the old site of Buster Daley's in North Park, where he intends to bring bands. (He replaced bands with DJs at the Morena Club two years ago.)

"It seems like everybody and their grandmother is opening a cocktail lounge with DJs. I see live music coming back.... The nearest bar [in North Park] is Scolari's Office, which is very small, very loud.... I need to fill a bigger bar." That bar -- scheduled to open September 7 -- will be named U-31.

On Wednesdays, the Morena Club hosts a Tribe of Kings, DJs who spin reggae.

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San Diego Reader 2024 Music & Arts Issue

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4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
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