Santa Ana's top news & views blog

Santa Ana's top news & views blog

Tag Archives: bars

A man was shot and killed early this morning at the Casa Del Rey bar in Santa Ana

Posted on by Posted in Alcohol, Crime, Daisy Sarmiento, Santa Ana, Vince Sarmiento Leave a comment

Santa Ana Police Department

Advisory: Detectives Investigating Homicide in the 200 Block of West Warner Avenue

Victim: Male, name being withheld pending OC Coroner’s notification with family

On Tuesday, April 11, 2017, at 12:08 AM, Santa Ana Police Officers responded to reports of a shooting at the Casa Del Rey Bar located at 230 W. Warner Avenue. Upon arrival, Officers found an adult male down in the parking lot suffering from a gunshot wound. Orange County Fire Authority responded and pronounced the adult male deceased at 12:24 AM. Continue reading→

A bartender accidentally set a woman on fire at DTSA’s Lola Gaspar this morning

Posted on by Posted in Accidents, Alcohol, Fires, Food, OCFA, Santa Ana 9 Comments

A Lola Gaspar Bartender

An unidentified woman was burned at the Lola Gaspar restaurant located at 211 West 2nd St. in DTSA shortly after midnight on New Year’s Eve after a bartender lit liquor on fire, according to the O.C. Register.

Authorities said a bartender poured alcohol onto the bar at Lola Gaspar and lit it on fire, according to ABC News. Somehow the woman’s hair and face caught fire, just after midnight, according to the SAPD. Continue reading→

Benavides fundraiser now to be held at the cochinero that is the Yost Theatre

Posted on by Posted in 2014 Elections, Alcohol, Bars, David Benavides, Health and Medical, Politics, Public Safety, Restaurants, Santa Ana 6 Comments

Yost chorro

Poor Santa Ana Councilman David Benavides had to switch the location of his upcoming fundraising reception from Ketri Cafe to the Yost Theatre after we let the people of Santa Ana know about Ketri’s unfortunate record of health violations.  However perhaps Benavides should have checked out the Yost Theatre’s health record before he selected them as the new location of his fundraiser, which is set for Oct 16, 2014, from 5:30 to 7:30 pm.  It turns out the Yost is a real cochinero!

On July 10, 2014, the Yost received these health violations after a health inspection by the OC Health Care Agency:

  • Uncleanliness of Premises/Trash Storage
  • Facility not Fully Enclosed/Open Door/Air Curtain
  • Inoperable/Lack of Food Thermometer
  • Water Temp (100F-119F)/Wash Temp <100F/Cross Con
  • Unsanitary Equipment/Utensil/Linen/Plumbing
  • Lack of/Unsanitary/Condition Walls/Floors/Ceilings
  • Improper Food Storage/Receiving
  • Change Room Improper Use/Lack of

Continue reading→

SAPD DUI checkpoint set for Friday night, August 8, at 800 E. First St.

Posted on by Posted in Alcohol, Bars, Crime, Santa Ana Leave a comment

SAPD DUI Checkpoint

The Santa Ana Police Department will be conducting a DUI/Drivers License checkpoint on Friday, August 8th, 2014. It will begin at 9:00PM and is scheduled to conclude at 3:00AM. It will be conducted in the area of 800 E First Street, Santa Ana, CA.

For some unknown reason the SAPD did not release notice of this DUI Checkpoint via the City of Santa Ana’s Nixle service.  Instead the press release was announced on the SAPD’s Facebook Page.

The SAPD barely catches any drunks at these checkpoints.  The truth is that select police officers are chosen to work the checkpoints where they earn a huge overtime bonus.  The money for this comes from the State of California.  Think of this as a gift to the police unions.  It is not however effective policing. Continue reading→

Could the One Broadway Plaza Tower save the DTSA food and arts scene?

Posted on by Posted in Arts and Culture, Bars, Development, Mike Harrah, Planning, Real Estate, Redevelopment, Restaurants, Santa Ana 25 Comments

OBP

The Calacas Cafe recently relaunched after changing from a coffee shop to a Mexican cafeteria to compete in the changing downtown atmosphere, labeled by some as one of the hippest scenes in Orange County, according to the O.C. Register.

With a new bar or restaurant opening downtown just about every other month, the owner of Calacas, Rudy Cordova, said he felt he just couldn’t keep up.

No one can keep up.  There are only so many hipsters around and the only way that Downtown Santa Ana’s hipster food and drinking – and arts – scene is going to survive is with a massive influx of new customers.   Continue reading→

SAPD DUI Checkpoint set for Feb. 8 at 800 W. First St.

Posted on by Posted in Alcohol, Bars, Crime, Santa Ana Leave a comment

SAPD DUI Checkpoint

Santa Ana Police Department Advisory:  Police Department conducting a DUI/Drivers License checkpoint on February 8th, 7:30PM to 1:30AM in the area of 800 W. First

The Santa Ana Police Department will be conducting a DUI/Drivers License checkpoint on Saturday, February 8th, 2014. It will begin at 7:30PM and is scheduled to conclude at 1:30AM. It will be conducted in the area of 800 W. First Street, Santa Ana, CA. Continue reading→

New alcohol ordinance passes but Benavides fails to keep bars open until 4 am

Posted on by Posted in Alcohol, Bars, Civic Affairs, David Benavides, Michele Martinez, Sal Tinajero, Santa Ana 2 Comments

David Benavides at Alderete's Fundraiser

The City Council has approved a new ordinance aimed at simplifying the permit process for restaurants and other night-time businesses that want to offer entertainment, according to the O.C. Register.

According to the Voice of OC, the new rules include: Continue reading→

Food safety still a problem at some popular Downtown Santa Ana restaurants

Posted on by Posted in Bars, Food, Health and Medical, Janet Nguyen, Public Safety, Restaurants, Santa Ana Leave a comment

Santa Ana Food Safety

It has been a few months since I took a look at the food safety records of many of the most popular bars and restaurants in Downtown Santa Ana.  The news is not great.

Orange County’s Health Care Agency inspects our restaurants but they are not required to post letter grades, thanks to Supervisor Janet Nguyen who was the key vote against letter grades a few years ago.  She did not tell anyone at the time that her own husband and her then Chief of Staff owned a Lee’s Sandwiches in Stanton that at the time had a terrible health record.

So here is our updated rundown of O.C. Health Care Agency inspections of our local Downtown Santa Ana restaurants: Continue reading→

Benavides apparently wants to keep bars in town open until 4 a.m.

Posted on by Posted in Alcohol, Bars, Civic Affairs, David Benavides, Phil Bacerra, Planning, Public Safety, Santa Ana 27 Comments

David Benavides at Alderete's Fundraiser

Santa Ana Councilman David Benavides is apparently pushing for a modification to the City of Santa Ana’s Proposed Alcohol and Entertainment Ordinance that I can at best call irresponsible and ridiculous. Click here to read what Benavides is proposing.

Benavides wants to allow after-hours alcohol sales up to 4 am.  Currently bars in town have to close up at 2 am at the latest. Continue reading→

Open Mic night at the Copper Door set for June 25

Posted on by Posted in Alcohol, Arts and Culture, Bars, Entertainment, Free Speech, music, Poetry, Santa Ana Leave a comment

Downtown Santa Ana’s The Copper Door is hosting an “Open Mic Night” on Tuesday, June 25th, 2013. Sign ups start at 8pm. All Musicians and Poets are welcome.  Hosted by Theo Hirsch and Mic Hempstead.

  • All Genres – Singers, Rappers, Musicians, Poets, Comics & more
  • Live local music
  • Live local art *Local vendors
  • Free! No cover! Continue reading→

Enjoy $1 Tacos at the Green Parrot Villa’s Taco Tuesday Happy Hour

Posted on by Posted in Alcohol, Bars, Restaurants, Santa Ana Leave a comment

The good news is Monday is done and the better news is that the Green Parrot Villa has an awesome daily Happy Hour that gets even better on Tuesdays – when you can buy their handmade $1 tacos and enjoy Margaritas and Draft Beers for half price!

The Green Parrot Villa’s Happy Hour runs form 4 pm to 7 pm.  And be sure to stay for dinner.  Their gourmet Dinner Specials currently include: 1/2 roasted chicken accompanied with grilled Mediterranean vegetables & garlic mashed potatoes, or Hake fish accompanied with spinach and Creamy Poblano Sauce!! Dinner served nightly from 4 pm-8 pm.  See the coupon below to get a dinner for half off when you buy one at full price and two beverages. Continue reading→

Do you like how Downtown Santa Ana is doing?

Posted on by Posted in Bars, Civic Affairs, Development, Restaurants, Santa Ana 18 Comments

velvet lounge 10

Omar Ávalos Gallegos asks a very good question in his latest post over at the Santa Ana Sentinel – How is Downtown Santa Ana doing?

Here are a few excerpts from his post followed by my own comments:

What’s good about Downtown Santa Ana? Original brands. This is one area where the downtown sets itself apart from others. First of a kind restaurants and store brands make the area unique and that is a strength. Some city dwellers don’t want the downtown to lose that uniqueness by coupling more recognizable franchised brands with those newer, unique ones. Continue reading→

The Little Sparrow Cafe is now open for business in Downtown Santa Ana

Posted on by Posted in Alcohol, Bars, Restaurants, Santa Ana 4 Comments

The Little Sparrow is open

Downtown Santa Ana’s newest restaurant, the Little Sparrow Cafe, is now open for business, as of this Monday, May 13, 2013, for breakfast and lunch only, Mon-Fri, from 7am – 11am for breakfast and 11 am to 4 pm for lunch.  They are offering coffee, tea, baked goods, and simple egg dishes for breakfast, and hand-crafted original sandwiches and salads for lunch, for eat in or take-out.  They are located at 300 N. Main St., in Santa Ana.  You may call them at (714) 265-7640.

Next week, on Tuesday, May 21, they will start serving dinner as well and they will be opening up their bar. Dinner hours will be Tue-Sat, from 6pm – Midnight.  Dinner fare will be “California bistro,” serving refined dishes in a casual atmosphere. Reservations are suggested. Reservations Available Now. Continue reading→

If you still care about the Santa Ana Art Walk, it is set for tonight

Posted on by Posted in Arts and Culture, Bars, Entertainment, Restaurants, Santa Ana 18 Comments

Well, tonight is the First Saturday of the Month, which means you can head down to Downtown Santa Ana for the monthly Art Walk, which features arts, crafts and live entertainment centrally located at: Artists Village – Second Street Promenade (2nd & Broadway) & the Santiago Arts Colony (Santa Ana Blvd. & Poinsettia).

But do Santa Ana’s residents still care about the Art Walk?  It is mostly attended by folks who don’t live here.  They come here to gawk at the art and hang out with the artists, although few of these folks actually buy any art.  They get drunk at the Memphis, Chapter One, Crosby and the Copper Door.  They chow down at some of those same venues, plus a few others.  They might even head to the Yost for music by performers I never heard of.

But is any of this worth it to the people of Santa Ana?  I don’t know.  But if you dig this then here are a few links to what is going on tonight: Continue reading→

SAPD to conduct a DUI checkpoint on 3/23 at 500 W. Warner, in Santa Ana

Posted on by Posted in Alcohol, Bars, Crime, Public Safety, Santa Ana 1 Comment

SAPD DUI Checkpoint

Santa Ana Police Department Advisory: Police Department conducting DUI/Drivers License checkpoint on Saturday, March 23rd 7:30PM 1:30AM area of 500 W. Warner Avenue

SANTA ANA POLICE STEP UP DUI ENFORCEMENT

The Santa Ana Police Department will be conducting a DUI/Drivers License checkpoint on Saturday, March 23rd, 2013. It will begin at 7:30PM and is scheduled to conclude at 1:30AM. It will be conducted in the area of 500 W. Warner Avenue, in the City of Santa Ana. Continue reading→