Yep, it looks like Diego's is dead by the end of February.
Yesterday, we got news that the downtown Santa Ana restaurant/massive concert hall is calling it in after less than two years in business. Despite having plenty of potential (which we talked about in our locals only column last year), it apparently wasn't enough for the owners of the building to keep the place. Yesterday in a Facebook post (which was hastily taken down), Diego's owner Richard Espinachio made the sad announcement that the building will be sold off at the end of the month. Espinachio explains in detail after the jump.
See also: Will Diego's Be the Next Big Local Venue in Santa Ana?
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From Diego's Facebook page:
For the last 35 years, the building known as Festival was a dance hall that housed countless weekend norteño, tejano, and banda concerts, booking acts like Oringinales, Karlos Quintero and Los Hermanos Arellano. Starting in late 2013, chef and former gallery owner Richard Espinachio has opened Diego's as a bar that shared the venue with Festival Monday through Thursday, booking everything from free form art shows, to local theater to psychedelic rock lineups.
As of now there's still a handful of solid shows on the calendar, including an album release party for avant jazzers Evan Stone and the Translucent Ham Sandwich Band on February 26. Even though it was entirely too much room for most local bands, it was nice having this big blank canvas venue for a short while. Peep their show calendar and enjoy it while it lasts!
See also:
The 50 Best Things About the OC Music Scene
The 50 Worst Things About the OC Music Scene
The 25 Greatest OC Bands of All Time: The Complete List
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