Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

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

Cops naysay downtown opening of Phantom Lounge

“Highest crime area in the city”

Phantom Lounge and Nightclub may open soon downtown at 1014 Fifth Avenue (just north of Broadway). This will be the third Phantom Lounge location in San Diego County. Unlike the two existing businesses, this one will have a full-service restaurant, including beer, wine, spirits, hookah, and live entertainment.

Civic San Diego hearing officer Paul Anderson on October 10 granted a conditional use permit to Phantom Lounge, LLC, and Vigen Hanna, its chairman and CEO. CivicSD had received a letter from San Diego Downtown Residents Group indicating their opposition to the project. Gary Smith, the group’s president, stated they favor limited hours, no “shows,” and strict control of crowds and noise.

Sponsored
Sponsored

The San Diego Police Department recommended on September 25 that CivicSD deny the use permit, saying it would be “detrimental to the public health, safety, and welfare of the community and city.” It stated that “the ABC license they are seeking (Type 47) does not allow live entertainment.” The SDPD also said it would be “in the highest crime area and third highest alcohol-related crime area in the city.”

Phantom's location is across the street from the Hotel Palomar, Broadway Lofts, and House of Blues. The Yard House is a block away on Fourth Avenue. And more bars and clubs are located nearby in the Gaslamp Quarter.

Sean Finnegan, redevelopment VP at Aimco, presented the Broadway Lofts’ viewpoint. Finnegan wrote that he's “very concerned” about crowds, noise, and hours of operation.

According to the state Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control, a business with a Type 47 license is technically a “restaurant” and not a nightclub. The proprietor must operate it as a “bona fide eating place...and must make actual and substantial sales of meals for consumption on the premises."

The eatery will have live entertainment, via a disc jockey, but no patron dancing will be allowed. Marco Polo Cortes appeared at the hearing on behalf of Hanna, emphasizing, “We're a restaurant, not a nightclub,” though “nightclub” is part of the proposed establishment’s name. Hanna said he chose the name to make it sound “edgy.” The restaurant will offer breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

The property is owned by On Broadway SD Partners, LP. Interior construction of Phantom Lounge has already begun. Owners plan to have operating hours of Sunday through Saturday, 7 a.m. to 1:30 a.m.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

March is typically windy, Sage scents in the foothills

Butterflies may cross the county

Phantom Lounge and Nightclub may open soon downtown at 1014 Fifth Avenue (just north of Broadway). This will be the third Phantom Lounge location in San Diego County. Unlike the two existing businesses, this one will have a full-service restaurant, including beer, wine, spirits, hookah, and live entertainment.

Civic San Diego hearing officer Paul Anderson on October 10 granted a conditional use permit to Phantom Lounge, LLC, and Vigen Hanna, its chairman and CEO. CivicSD had received a letter from San Diego Downtown Residents Group indicating their opposition to the project. Gary Smith, the group’s president, stated they favor limited hours, no “shows,” and strict control of crowds and noise.

Sponsored
Sponsored

The San Diego Police Department recommended on September 25 that CivicSD deny the use permit, saying it would be “detrimental to the public health, safety, and welfare of the community and city.” It stated that “the ABC license they are seeking (Type 47) does not allow live entertainment.” The SDPD also said it would be “in the highest crime area and third highest alcohol-related crime area in the city.”

Phantom's location is across the street from the Hotel Palomar, Broadway Lofts, and House of Blues. The Yard House is a block away on Fourth Avenue. And more bars and clubs are located nearby in the Gaslamp Quarter.

Sean Finnegan, redevelopment VP at Aimco, presented the Broadway Lofts’ viewpoint. Finnegan wrote that he's “very concerned” about crowds, noise, and hours of operation.

According to the state Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control, a business with a Type 47 license is technically a “restaurant” and not a nightclub. The proprietor must operate it as a “bona fide eating place...and must make actual and substantial sales of meals for consumption on the premises."

The eatery will have live entertainment, via a disc jockey, but no patron dancing will be allowed. Marco Polo Cortes appeared at the hearing on behalf of Hanna, emphasizing, “We're a restaurant, not a nightclub,” though “nightclub” is part of the proposed establishment’s name. Hanna said he chose the name to make it sound “edgy.” The restaurant will offer breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

The property is owned by On Broadway SD Partners, LP. Interior construction of Phantom Lounge has already begun. Owners plan to have operating hours of Sunday through Saturday, 7 a.m. to 1:30 a.m.

Comments
Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Angry Pete’s goes from pop-up to drive-thru

Detroit Pizza sidles into the husk of a shuttered Taco Bell
Next Article

March is typically windy, Sage scents in the foothills

Butterflies may cross the county
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
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
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.