UPDATE, Aug. 25, 10 a.m. : The Memphis Group has clarified a facts regarding Detroit Bar; read throughout.
ORIGINAL POST, Aug. 24, 8:47 a.m.: The Galaxy Theatre is under new ownership–but the new management are no strangers to the OC music scene.
Jon Reiser said he sold his ownership of Detroit Bar in early August and went into a partnership with Affliction co-owner Courtney Dubar and Courtney Michaelis to buy the 1000+-capacity venue in Santa Ana.
Reiser co-owned the Detroit Bar with Dan Bradley, Diego Velasco, David Hastie, Mike Harris and Scott Hamilton–who also own all Memphis Restaurants and Tin Lizzie Saloon. He booked talents such as Dinosaur Jr. and Wu-Tang Clan's the GZA at the much-smaller Costa Mesa club. (Former talent buyer at Detroit Bar Chris Fahey booked Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Elliot Smith.)
Before he bought the Galaxy, Reiser was hoping to bring back the Golden Bear, Huntington Beach's famous music venue. Last we heard (in an email dated June 29 from Reiser), “the city passed several ordinances restricting new bars and clubs from opening in the downtown area. The project is on hold until it can go through the Conditional Use Permit process successfully.”
This month, Reiser surprised us with the news that the Galaxy was his.
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The Memphis Group took over Club Mesa and turned it into Detroit Bar in 2001. Reiser joined the partnership in 2006 and was initially invested as a silent partner, then had a more active role in booking acts as years went by. One of Reiser's first bookings at the Galaxy Theatre is pretty exciting: Foster the People is set to play at the new venue on Sept 12.
The venue also has a new website (which is awesome, especially if you remember how the old one used FRAMES). Alas, its new logo is slightly fug.
Gary Folgner, who also owns the Coach House in San Juan Capistrano, launched the Galaxy Theatre in 1994. It closed for about a year in 2008 when Folgner's lease wasn't renewed, but he reopened the venue again in 2009.
