#DEJA VU CLUB FULL#

Of City Hall’s objections, Lustro told me: “All of that said, city staff continues to be pleased that the adult-oriented business is gone.”ĭavid Allen writes Sunday, Wednesday and Friday, a statement that must seem like deja vu. He wrote: “It has been a challenge to transition Mission Boulevard from an historically strip commercial arterial that had ‘seen better days’ to an attractive corridor in which developers and property owners are now not as hesitant to make an investment.” Lustro sent a letter to the county planning director outlining the city’s efforts to improve Mission. “We do not believe the establishment of a bar at a major intersection is the highest and best use of the 1.22-acre site,” Steve Lustro, the city’s community development director, told me, “and we also do not feel it will make a positive contribution to the image of Mission Boulevard.” Several outdated or dilapidated buildings have been removed. Approved in recent years have been two housing developments, two shopping plazas, a gas station and a storage facility, and under discussion are two light industrial buildings, another housing development and a corporate headquarters. The city invested $12 million in improving Mission from the Los Angeles County line east to Benson Avenue. Montclair officials say the conditions have reasonable safeguards, but the new use stops short of what they’d prefer. Or maybe “sweet innocence.” That covers up Deja Vu’s name and its famous motto: “1000s of Beautiful Girls and 3 Ugly Ones.” The exterior was untouched on Thursday, although the pylon sign had been painted white.

The pylon sign, which is taller and larger than currently allowed, can remain for five years - change happens slowly on this corner - and its color must match the building. (Please paint it bunny gray! Suddenly it will be the county’s most adorable building!)Ī few of the colors seem vaguely racy, like a holdover from the Deja Vu days: “chantilly lace,” “marilyn’s dress,” “wedding veil,” “sweet innocence.” I love the names, all from Benjamin Moore, of the 63 colors: “November rain,” “iceberg,” “woodland snow,” “gray owl” and “bunny gray” among them.

#DEJA VU CLUB FULL#

(In that sense, I guess the building could be Deja Vu all over again, but not as we knew it.) You can find the full list on my blog.Īlso, there is a document titled Approved Color Palette that lays out precisely which shades are allowed. In what seems to be a valiant effort by the county to close any loopholes, the business must choose from a list of nine approved names, among them Deja Vu Comedy and Sports Bar and Deja Vu Bar and Night Club. The business is allowed to serve alcohol and have “non-adult entertainment, including a sports bar, comedy club and live music,” according to the conditions of approval.

Terms were eventually agreed upon, and the Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a settlement and a conditional use permit on Oct. In protest, in August 2013 they repainted the exterior bright pink, the same eye-searing color that hadn’t been seen since 2003. Per the agreement, Deja Vu closed on schedule in 2012 and its owners set about turning the place into a bar, but they objected to some of the county’s conditions. That resulted in closing the by-the-hour motel and the addition of landscaping and a more muted paint scheme to replace the neon pink, as well as giving the strip club a decade of continued existence. Officials there could only look on in frustration as they tried to clean up the portions of Mission that are in city limits.Īfter litigation that began circa 1988, the county negotiated a legal agreement with Deja Vu in 2002. The property is in unincorporated San Bernardino County, out of the jurisdiction of adjacent Montclair. The windowless building on the northwest corner of Mission Boulevard and Central Avenue has long been considered an eyesore and embarrassment.

Deja vu club