After The Victorian, Main Street Is Resetting Its Clock

For twenty years, the most recognizable address on Main Street did its busiest trade after dark. On weekends at The Victorian, DJs played the basement, the main floor and the upstairs rooms, and the house still ran salsa and bachata lessons every week, as the Los Angeles Times reported in October. The next plan for 2640 Main St. includes a pool, a coffee bistro and children's programming, and the people behind it are the same two operators who ran the nightclub.

That change at one address helps explain the whole street. This year's openings divide Main Street's day by block, and its late hours now sit on the 2900 block.

The Operators Who Retired Their Own Nightclub

According to the City of Santa Monica's October 9 announcement, Garner Gerson and Adir Tal came to the city in late 2025 with a proposal to move away from the late-night model. The City Council approved the restructured lease unanimously on March 24. City Manager Oliver Chi said in that release that the pair "shared that their nightlife model had run its course at The Victorian, and that families were what Main Street needed next."

The Victorian's last scheduled weekend was its annual Halloween celebration. The building is due to reopen as The Santa Monican, a family-centered membership club with a pool, a spa and fitness center, a family and youth facility, a coffee bistro, a restaurant and bar, and gardens. Renovation is expected to start in late 2026, and the club is targeting a mid-2028 opening. The operators will announce membership details and pricing in the coming months.

The house has moved before. It was originally the Kyte House at 1003 Ocean Ave. A developer who had planned to demolish it donated it instead, along with the neighboring Roy Jones House, and paid to move both to Main Street. The Roy Jones House is now the California Heritage Museum, across from The Victorian, as the Santa Monica Daily Press recounted.

"We want families walking the neighborhood, visiting local shops, having dinner and making memories here," Gerson said in the city's release. The openings around Heritage Square this year already fit that description.

Three Stretches, Three Parts of the Day

If you lay this year's openings out by street number, a pattern appears. The north end has errand stops, the blocks around Heritage Square have all-day dining, and the 2900 block has the places that stay open latest.

At the north end, Santa Monica Market and Punch Bowl serve daytime routines. Visit Santa Monica describes Punch Bowl's smoothies as made with milks prepared in-house.

Met Her at a Bar sits directly across from the Victorian property. It was the Kinnes' first Santa Monica location, and the city counted roughly 100 jobs when it opened in August. It serves breakfast, lunch and dinner from one all-day menu. When the club opens across the street, its own coffee bistro and gardens will join a block that already runs on daytime hours.

The city's release lists Nameless at 2810 Main St. as a reopening by Gerson and Tal. Nameless closed during the COVID-19 pandemic. So the team that is ending its run at 2640 still has a second address on the street.

The Late Hours Move to the 2900 Block

Two doors on the 2900 block now hold most of Main Street's late evening.

Bar Fortuna opened on Wednesday, October 21, at 2917 Main St., according to Eater LA. It is the new place from Brian Bornemann, the chef behind Crudo e Nudo. The room holds about 40 seats, and the menu runs to eight house-made pastas, starters built from farmers market produce, shared mains and several versions of the Negroni. Eater lists the hours as Wednesday and Thursday from 5 to 10 p.m. and Friday through Sunday from noon to 10 p.m., with late-night bites and cocktails until midnight.

A few doors down, Circle Bar reopened on May 22 after sitting dark for nearly three years. The Santa Monica Daily Press reported that local restaurateurs Mark and Addie Van Gessel, who run Hinano Cafe and Tavern on Main, took it over. They kept the original floor plan, the bar and the exterior signage. They also added a larger dance floor, a central DJ booth, new sound and lighting, and a projection screen.

With The Victorian's floors dark, Main Street's DJ booth is at 2926, on the same block as Bar Fortuna.

The Sunday Market Is Headed Onto the Street

The least visible change in the Victorian deal may be the one that touches the most Sunday mornings. The Main Street Farmers Market currently uses the property's parking lot, as the Los Angeles Times noted. The city's market page lists it at 2640 Main St., at Main and Ocean Park Boulevard, open year-round, rain or shine, except for closures on holidays or in extreme conditions. The city's vendor information gives the hours as 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

Under the new lease, the city's release says, "the Sunday Farmers Market will transition to a weekly, open street event on Main Street." The operators have committed to providing restrooms, storage, power and water to support the market. That would carry the Sunday crowd out of the lot and onto the blocks lined with Met Her at a Bar, Punch Bowl and the rest. For this weekend and the ones after it, the city's market page still lists the lot at 2640 and the 8:30 a.m. start.

The Parts of 2640 That Stay Public

The building belongs to the city, and Mayor Caroline Torosis said in the city's announcement, "we wrote public benefits into its lease." As the Santa Monica Daily Press summarized the lease, it includes these terms:

• Up to 20% of memberships reserved as free scholarship memberships for qualifying Santa Monica residents, including families, educators and small business owners
• The Heritage Museum lawn and the site's 25 public parking spaces staying open to everyone
• Existing Victorian employees kept on, with local hiring benchmarks and a "first job" program for local youth
• Free community events, an annual charity gala and a yearly report on community benefits

The operators also plan to work with the city and community groups on seasonal events at the property, including free summer barbecues, Santa Monica Snow Days and holiday celebrations. The club itself is targeting mid-2028. Main Street's own holiday program arrives this season.

Between Now and the Main Street Tree Lighting

The Santa Monica Daily Press Around Town column lists a Main St. Tree Lighting & Holiday Party for Sunday, December 6. Several other seasonal dates fall in the weeks before it, most within a short drive of Ocean Park.

• Frost on Fifth: the downtown outdoor ice rink at 1324 Fifth St. opened November 5 and runs through Monday, January 18.
• Swiss Winter Village: a new Swiss-style holiday market on the Santa Monica Pier, with food stalls, festive bars, live performances, a chalet and skating, runs November 18 through January 3, according to Visit Santa Monica.
• Locals' Night on the Pier: held every third Thursday, with Swiss Art + Sound in November and Holiday Cheer on the Pier in December. In 2026 those Thursdays fall on November 19 and December 17.
• Tree lightings: Regent Santa Monica Beach on November 19 and the Third Street Promenade on November 22.

On the 2900 block, Bar Fortuna serves from noon on Sundays, so the evening of the Main Street lighting can end with a plate of pasta a few doors from Circle Bar.

A members club at 2640 and a Sunday market on the street itself will change how the blocks around Heritage Square are used. If you would like a discreet conversation about how Main Street's next chapter bears on a property you own or are considering in Ocean Park, Nancy Ellin Realty Group welcomes you to Request a Private Consultation.