LAGUNA BEACH – After Labor Day, the Boom Boom Room will be no more.
The iconic Laguna Beach gay bar will close its doors permanently Sept. 3 after co-owners Patrick O’Loughlin and James Marchese were unable to reach an agreement with landlord Steven Udvar Hazy.
Although Hazy said he offered a month-to-month lease through spring 2008 for the properties housing the bar and Coast Inn, O’Loughlin opted to close the historic establishment.
“At this location, there is no future to it,” O’Loughlin said. The property owner wanted the flexibility to immediately move ahead if he found a buyer or was able to get the necessary approvals to renovate, he added.
On Tuesday, long-time patrons and supporters were sad to hear the bad news.
“It’s not as much the actual place, but a symbol of the gay community’s role in the city of Laguna Beach – its development, shape and sense of character,” said Robert Gentry, 68, a former Laguna councilman and mayor who recently co-chaired grassroots committee Save the Boom. “There is a certain sense of history there that is really important. I don’t want the gay community to return to second-class citizens in that wonderful seaside community that it helped develop.”
Added Gentry’s partner, Dennis Amick Gentry, 56: “It’s a shame we couldn’t find another owner to continue it the way it had been.”
No plans have been made to move the bar to another location. The bar was originally set to close last Labor Day, but received a reprieve in the form of a one-year extension on the lease last August.
Hazy purchased the property in April 2005, planning to make it a boutique hotel. He has moved his intended hotel elsewhere in the county but continues to consider renovating the Coast Inn, Boom Boom Room and a convenience store across Mountain Road.
Although the property is not actively on market, Hazy is entertaining offers from potential buyers, said realtor Joseph Smith. The asking price for the three properties is $20 million.
Save the Boom leader Fred Karger is hopeful that a gay-friendly buyer or a lessee could keep the bar open.
“I’m ecstatic that Mr. Hazy is willing to (extend the lease),” he said.
“I think it’s sad it is closing,” said Councilman Kelly Boyd, who has lived in Laguna his entire life and owns the Marine Room Tavern, “But I’d try to keep it open as long as I could.”
Even if the property owner sold it, the deal would most likely go through a 60 to 90-day escrow, Boyd said. “Why not keep it open until it’s time to leave?”
Timeline
1980s: The landmark gay bar reaches its heyday and national prominence as one of the few places where homosexual men can let loose.
April 2005: The bar’s future is in limbo after the beachfront property – along with the Coast Inn’s 24-room hotel are sold. The owner, Steven Udvar-Hazy, agrees to keep it open one more year.
February 2007: Supporters gather 1,200 pages during the “Save the Boom” campaign that they present before the City Council.
June 2007: “Save the Boom” activist Fred Karger appeals to Brad Pitt and George Clooney to buy the bar.
September: The bar’s lease ends.
Contact the writer: cwoodall@ocregister.com or 949-454-7391
