I was in shock after I read this post on the Instagram account of El Dorado Cocktail Lounge:
“It is better to have loved and lost, than to have never loved at all.” As of today, El Dorado is closing its doors.
How can that be? After walking by this place every week for almost fifteen years to catch the bus to work, I finally went inside a month ago and fell in love. It is (was) the kind of place I adore: dark, kitschy, great service, ecclectic in decor, slightly retro, and classic cocktails that were crafted to perfection.
What took me so long to visit? First, it is not in a great area. Barely a block from the San Diego City College transit station on Broadway, every day you need to avoid eye contact with cracked out addicts shouting out profanities and sometimes exposing themselves. Keep moving. That’s my motto. However, after all this time, the glass block and neon at the entrance beckoned me in. I am so glad they did.
I’m even happier that I took my camera. Twice.
The reason the bar closed is still unknown to me. According to SANDIEGOVILLE:
No reason has been given for the reason behind El Dorado's sudden closure. We reached out to the company for comment but did not receive a response by the time of publishing.
They also gave a little history of the establishment:
In 2008, Nathan Stanton (then co-owner of Consortium Holding Hospitality Group), his younger twin brothers, Marshall and Matthew Stanton, and Ryan Kuntz took over what was then Hong Kong Nite Club on Broadway in San Diego's East Village and opened El Dorado Cocktail Lounge. Under the Consortium Holdings umbrella of bars and restaurants, the establishment hired some of the finest barkeeps this city has to offer and soon became respected as innovators and educators in the cocktail world. Last fall, news broke that Glendale, CA-base Pouring With Heart restaurant group, which also owns Seven Grand and Bar Three Piece in San Diego's North Park, took over the establishment. The new owners closed the bar early this year and transitioned it to offer a more classic cocktail experience. Less than a year later, the company has announced that El Dorado is permanently closed.
A “Karen” on Instagram posted this comment on IG on the El Dorado account:
Y'all deserved to get shut down. It was f#$%^d up to tell employees y'all were closing THE DAY OF just so your workers wouldn't quit on you. DESERVED. Pretty sure they were trying to make as much as they still could to afford the costs of a failing business. I'm also sure they didn't wanna risk people quitting without notice, bc what's the point of staying at a job that can't even give a reference later? They've left many people jobless and without income, and let people work a full shift before doing so. Time that would've been spent finding another job was stolen from them.
How a person who lives in Virginia knew the behind-the-scenes story about a downtown San Diego bar is beyond me. Rarely are things as simple as they appear.
I don’t recall the previous Hong Kong Nite Club iteration at this location, so can’t speak to that one. Possibly another reason for the El Dorado failing was its hours. How does a bar downtown not open until 6pm? You immediately lose the happy hour business to other establishments. On the three occasions that I visited, the place was empty. I’m sure the hipsters arrived much later.
One of the restroom signs; guess I won’t be able to get a shot of the other sign.
A shy maiden forever stuck in the rain hung over the bar.
Lots of taxidermy.
My favorite cocktail, the El Diablo. It was delish. I raise my glass to the good times at El Dorado.
Moral of the story:
Don’t rely on the fact that there will always be a next time. Live your life NOW!
Oh yes, and take the photos that you want at that moment.
I guess I better get myself over to the Chee Chee Club down the street and check it out. At least that one opens at noon!
See more El Dorado Cocktail Lounge photos at my main website.
4 comments:
This is lesson we're learning all too often nowadays. I assume these places will be here forever and next thing you know they're closed without notice. I see the violation and their formula though. It looks like they had a great plan that works, new management came in with their sweeping ideas, and upon implementation that killed the business. I'm seeing a lot of that nowadays as well. Foolish. Avoidable.
I suppose we will never know. Costs continue to escalate, it continues to be difficult to find qualified workers, perhaps a refinancing of debt to higher interest rates of today just made it impossible to operate. Location, customer traffic...always in flux. At least you had the opportunity to enjoy it. That's what I tell myself when these things happen. As for the the other commentary, life isn't fair. I have twice found my job gone instantly with a layoff. I consoled myself over the years to realize that job security is an illusion and that I was a 'hired gun' no matter where I went. Which means I had the right to leave at any time and could walk away. It's a two way street. So make the best of it. KS
Bryan - I've also read it might have to do with redevelopment, because as you know, San Diego needs lots more mixed-use high rise apartment buildings that nobody can afford!
KS - Reminds me of the saying, “Fair is the place where they judge pigs.”
Yeah, perhaps they were a bit selfish closing on the night of notice, but they got their last paychecks and that's a heck of a lot more than you can say about most places.
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