Local legend Roland to hang up bar towel after 40 years
By REAGAN WHEELER I Special to the Daily Press
The line from Betty Roland’s poem “Pretty Stars”may not have been directed at Lounge 217, but it fits well with the venerable Broadway club spot. Roland, a former burlesque dancer-turned bartender has worked at the location for 40 years, having seen many familiar faces come through the door, including the likes of Oscar-winner Sean Penn.
The 91-year-old Roland’s streak, however, looks like it will soon end, with plans underway to close the night spot at the end of July as a result of persistent noise complaints.
The address of 217 Broadway has been the home of a modern dance club and bar for 14 years,but it has a much deeper history than most clubbers appreciate. The spot began as the Lightning Room, owned by Roland’s good friends the Blackburns. Greeting people at the door and traversing the sawdust floors to tables was Roland’s job until the Blackburns both passed, leaving the place in her name. It was called Mr. B’s then.
Soon, it will no longer go by its third incarnation, Lounge 217, with new ownership taking over at month’s end.
“I was a hostess first and learned a little about the business from the Blackburns,” said Roland. “I enjoyed learning. I’d always been a dancer, so to learn the business was a challenge.”
In the end, Roland got by with a little help from her friends.
The place continued as a neighborhood staple as Mr. B’s, serving up drinks and conversation, when Roland went into business with partners Mike Garrett and Tommy Stochivich. The pair upgraded the club to keep up with the style changes that were going on in downtown Santa Monica. The once jazz-and blues-filled air now rages with modern hip-hop, techno and rock. The floors are no longer remnants of wood, but cement. Candles sit atop each table to create an intimate atmosphere and a new, smaller bar room was added in the back, where a storage room was once situated.
Despite all of the renovations that Garrett and Stochivich did, including soundproofing the club, noise complaints kept rolling in.
“We would be the target for noise complaints, even when bottles were being collected in the alley,” said Stochivich. “We received written notices saying that we needed to keep down on nights we weren’t even open.”
Neither Garrett nor Stochivich are happy about closing up shop and moving on. While they own other business in the LA area and should manage just fine, the two say they are more concerned about Roland, who will be forced to make lifestyle changes, possibly even moving out of her Brentwood apartment.
At 91, finding a job will be very difficult. “She’s like family. We are doing everything to make sure Betty’s OK,” said Stochivich.
After joining up with Garrett and Stochivich, Roland stopped doing the paperwork and started working only day shifts while “the boys” covered nights. She calls them several times a day to check up on them.
“They will probably take me with them... I think,” Roland said Wednesday.
While heartbroken over the whole shutdown, Garrett and Stochivich are also confused. The club’s lease was still a month-to-month deal and had been trying for the past two years to get a more substantial agreement, but kept getting “excuse after excuse from Aaron Kuminz” — the owner of Hotel Carmel, according to Garret.
In April, Garrett and Stochivich received notice that their lease would soon expire. Soon after, attorneys got involved and got the lease extended for three months.
The loss of 217 Lounge could take a hit on an already depleted downtown nightlife scene. Kathleen Rawson, executive director for the Bayside District, said this week that Santa Monica could definitely benefit from more of a night scene, as long as it’s not over the top. Places like Harvelle’s are “very well run” and “run a tight ship when it comes to serving people alcohol,” Rawson said.
With of the changes made to 217 Broadway over the years, the latest was one for which Roland was not prepared.
“If someone lets you know ahead of the changes, you can make changes yourself,” said Roland. “I don’t know what I’m going to do.
“It’s like getting hit in the head.”
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on July 4, 2007. Read the original PDF.