City Records Show Santa Monica's Victorian Becoming a Members Club

The Victorian, a 20-year nightclub inside a city-owned Victorian house on Main Street in Santa Monica, is closing after its Halloween weekend party on October 31. Its October 5 Instagram announcement thanked fans for 20 years and said nothing else. City records tell a different story: the Santa Monica City Council already voted, unanimously and without discussion, to hand the property to a new private club.

Why it matters

On March 24, the council approved transferring the city lease at 2640 Main St. to The Santamonican Club, LLC, a new entity formed by The Victorian’s own operators, Garner Gerson and Adir Tal, according to city records reported by the Santa Monica Daily Press. The vote sat on the consent calendar. No one pulled it for discussion. The Daily Press said the city did not respond to its request for comment before publishing on October 6. Three days later, the city issued its own release confirming the plan, naming the operators and quoting Mayor Caroline Torosis: “This building belongs to the city, so we wrote public benefits into its lease.” The business that is actually closing never told the public any of this itself.

The numbers

City staff describe the planned use as a family-based recreation, events, and wellness facility for members, with a pool, a spa and wellness center, a fitness center, family facilities, a coffee bistro, and a restaurant and bar. The lease bakes in public terms regardless of who can afford to join: up to 20 percent of membership capacity is reserved as free scholarship memberships for qualifying Santa Monica residents, the site’s 25 public parking spaces stay open to the public, and the lawn next to the California Heritage Museum stays open as well. The operator must keep hosting the Sunday Main Street Farmers Market in the property’s parking lot. No dollar figures for investment, rent, or renovation cost appear in the available record.

What’s next

The council vote already happened, so the conversion itself is decided, not proposed. What is not yet settled in the record is timing: renovation is expected to begin in late 2026, with the club targeting an opening in 2028. Membership pricing and the fate of the Family Park and Family Gardens shown on concept plans, open to the public or members-only, are not addressed in what the city has released so far.

Learn more about commercial and civic real estate moves across Los Angeles.