Palookaville - Santa Cruz

Palookaville was a popular music venue located in Santa Cruz, California. The venue operated from 1994 to 2001 and was located at 1133 Pacific Ave., right in center of downtown Santa Cruz. It hosted a number of notable acts over the years, as well as special events such as album release parties, memorial celebrations, very special guests, and other unique events that made this nightclub particularly special. The Palookaville venue measured 8,500 square feet and generally had a concert capacity of 600 people, which included an upstairs balcony along the back wall opposite the stage. There was also an elevated area along one side that had tables for family and friends of the entertainers, and which led directly to the small "backstage" area on stage left.

History

The Palookaville venue opened in 1994. According to owner/operator Michael Horne: "After the Loma Prieta earthquake in 1989, downtown Santa Cruz was in shambles. Many buildings were condemned or torn down and but for the Catalyst and a few remaining watering holes, Pacific ave was a ghost town at night. At the corner of Lincoln and Pacific ave, the 9,000 ft art deco Morris Abrams building also sat empty, with its massive skylights leaking onto the hardwood floors for years. On Memorial day weekend in 1994, the doors re-opened as PALOOKAVILLE with our first dedicated staff and the overwhelming support of the community." The nightclub operated for the next 8 years and produced more than 2,500 shows during that time.

In 1997 the nightclub came under new management, 2B1 Productions. This production company would continue to operate the nightclub until its closing in October, 2001. Because 2B1 Productions was associated with the Maritime Hall venue in San Francisco the quality of bands and promotion dramatically improved. This included a run of high quality concert promotional posters that came out monthly from January 1999 until the final poster made for August, 2001, just a short time before the venue closed for good in October, 2001.

There was a coffee bar located inside of the venue was called Kismet Cafe which had daytime operating hours. Kismet Cafe was owned and operated by Mischa Lockton and Chris Preston.

Closure

Palookaville nightclub was closed in 2002. From the Sentinel Newspaper dated 10/13/2001 by staff reporter Brian Seals: "2B1 Productions said this week it is unlikely it would re-enter the Santa Cruz market at another location in the wake of the Sari Francisco-based company's pulling the plug on Palookaville. . . "Santa Cruz is not a very good market because of the aggressive taxing," said Boots Hughston of the San Francisco-based entertainment company, which also operates the Maritime Hall in San Francisco. Palookaville closed this month and the building is for rent. The 600-person capacity downtown music club closed for repairs in September. He said the collective tax bill alone was running about $3,000 per month. Hughston said clubs typically collect about 15 percent of the gate revenues. On a $10,000 night, that means the club would have about $1,500 to pay expenses. Moreover, increasing rent and local taxes such as admission, parking and other taxes made continuing not feasible. "I don't think we'll enter another club there until the dynamics change," Hughston said. A dispute about a repair bill that led to a lawsuit was the last straw, Hughston said. The building owners, Larry and Catherine Dong, filed suit against the club Aug. 30 in Santa Cruz County Superior Court. The owners contend Palookaville must pay for what they say are more than $200,000 in damages to the building. The company is seeking $26,000 for unpaid rent for July and August, according to court records. The club was known for its eclectic music acts. It opened in 1994 and 2B1 Productions took over in 1997.

Notable Artists

David Crosby, Keith Emerson, John Kahn Band, Little Feet, Bela Fleck & the Flecktones, Leo Kottke, David Grisman, Tony Levin, Ratdog, JGB

References

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