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Park Theatre. (Photo by Marissa Mortati)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
The details of the sale, which were finalized on Thursday, Jan. 15, were not made public by press time, but according to a press release, the decision to sell the theater and its restaurant was a tough one to make.<\/p>\n
\u201cBoth of these venues are near and dear to us,\u201d Cohen said in the release. \u201cBut I know that under this particular new ownership, both establishments will reach new levels of success, and that is not only good for the businesses themselves, it will greatly benefit the community of North Park as a whole.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cohen and his fellow investors had actually purchased The North Park Theatre in September 2013 and, by June of last year, had unveiled a remodeled interior with an expanded 1,100-person standing-room floor \u2014 and a calendar that included big name artists such as The New Pornographers, Rodriguez, Lykke Li, and Ronnie Spector among others. Last year, they claimed they were planning on booking over 100 shows in 2015.<\/p>\n
Somewhere along the line, the people behind Santa Ana\u2019s Observatory decided they wanted a slice of the North Park pie. William Lopez, principal at PR firm Alternative Strategies (which represents The Verant Group), said the new owners plan to make the transition as seamless as possible, with the previously scheduled shows booked by The North Park Theatre still going forward, and the West Coast Tavern (and its employees) expected to stay on.<\/p>\n
\u201c[The West Coast Tavern] will remain as it currently operates \u2014 same name, same staff and same concept,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The surrounding commercial district began reaping the benefits of The North Park Theatre\u2019s relaunch as soon as it started hosting live music last year. North Park Main Street Executive Director Angela Landsberg said the venue\u2019s been a boon to the area.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s been an incredible revitalization in that node of the community, and you can attribute that to the theater,\u201d Landsberg said. \u201cThere\u2019s been an increase in retail sales, and there\u2019s also been more interest by tenants wanting to come into this area.\u201d<\/p>\n
The North Park Theatre\u2019s revitalization came at a time of rapid business growth in the North Park area, centered nearby around the intersection of University Avenue and 30th Street. Landsberg explained that the theater clearly wasn\u2019t sold because of disappointing ticket sales or due to investors\u2019 withdrawal from a sagging economy.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis wasn\u2019t a fire sale,\u201d she said. \u201cSomebody saw an opportunity and wanted to put down this kind of money in our area. And let\u2019s be real: This is not chump change.\u201d<\/p>\n
Admittedly, it seems like strange timing \u2014 the theater recently hosted sold out shows by Ms. Lauryn Hill, Flying Lotus, and Yellowcard and has already sold out future shows for TV On The Radio (April 1) and Neutral Milk Hotel (May 28). But the new owners possibly saw a venue \u2014 and community \u2014 that had proved to be profitable and popular during its six-month run.<\/p>\n
When the theater re-opened its doors last year, it did so with the help of talent buyer extraordinaire Tim Mays \u2014 who owns The Casbah\u2014 and aside from booking his own club, also presents shows all over San Diego at venues such as the Belly Up Tavern, Soda Bar, The Hideout and The Irenic.<\/p>\n
His involvement was crucial, but it looks like now he\u2019ll play a rather less pivotal role in booking from here on out. According to Lopez, the Observatory North Park won\u2019t need a whole lot of help on that front.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe new company will be doing their own booking. [Mays] does have the option to book shows there though \u2014 so, in essence, if he has a show he wants to book at Observatory North Park, and they don\u2019t have something booked on that date, they will work with him to book the show. But, they wanted to buy the building because they have the ability to book it themselves.\u201d<\/p>\n
Observatory Orange County has established itself as the go-to venue of national touring acts between Los Angeles and San Diego. The venue hosts nightly shows on its main stage and in its smaller adjoining Constellation Room, so it\u2019s no stretch to say San Diegans will have a lot of shows to choose from with an Observatory location in town.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you were to look at the calendar from last year, the majority of the shows at The North Park Theatre were also booked at the Observatory Orange County. It\u2019s a natural extension, and it\u2019s a natural progression of artist\u2019s tours to come here now. There were only 80 shows at The North Park Theatre, but under Observatory North Park, there will be over 200 shows in 2015. That\u2019s double the shows, and they\u2019ll be covering a lot more genres.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Observatory in Santa Ana routinely plays home to several multiple-day festivals a year such as Burgerama (this year\u2019s lineup includes Weezer, Ty Segall, Black Lips and Bone Thugs-N-Harmony), Psycho California Fest (which includes Earthless, Russian Circles and Pallbearer), the Indigo Music Festival (including The Melvins, Rocket From the Crypt, and Deafheaven) and the huge, annual Beach Goth festival curated by The Growlers. What are the odds that those festivals or others make their way down to the North Park location now? Better than they were before, that\u2019s for sure.<\/p>\n
Like many music fans around the county, Lopez was upbeat about the sale, and added that the new ownership isn\u2019t looking to re-haul the venue and its strategy: \u201cThey\u2019re trying to keep as much as they can in place because they obviously saw how well it was doing. They\u2019re not trying to fix something that, ultimately, wasn\u2019t broken.\u201d<\/p>\n