Former Club 101 Owner Looks to Take Reins of George's Nightclub

San Rafael’s George's Nightclub will likely have new owners soon. 

Todd Ghanizadeh, the current owner of George's, said efforts are underway to transfer the ownership of the venue to the former owner of Club 101, which recently shuttered, and another person who wasn’t formerly involved with Club 101 or George's.

The new ownership — which hasn’t been finalized yet — wouldn’t lead to major changes at George's, Ghanizadeh said. 

“It’s not going to be Club 101 moved over 20 blocks,” he said.

Ghanizadeh will continue to schedule the regular Friday night jazz, blues or rock and roll bookings at the venue. George's will also continue having a regular church group use the space on Sunday and live bands perform on Sunday nights. 

Some new programming is in the works, such as a recently added Saturday night DJ and some Latin and salsa events, he said.

“Revolution Saturdays,” as they are publicized on the George's Nightclub website,  will feature some of the bays “hottest DJs coming to town” and will include “top 40s, house, club hits, Latin, Reggaeton, merengue, electric Latino” and more. A flier on the website also mentions a 12 a.m. lingerie show.

Upcoming performers scheduled for Friday nights include San Francisco-based jazz singer Paula West on June 21 and Cuba Gooding Senior, the lead singer of the soul group The Main Ingredient and father of Cuba Gooding Jr., who is slated to perform in July, Ghanizadeh said. The R&B band Pride and Joy will also return to the club for a New Year's performance, he said.

“It’s going to be a mix of things … but it’s still in the process of being worked out,” he said. There will also be some changes made to the George's food menu, he said.

A varied programming should help the venue stay afloat, Ghanizadeh said.

“San Rafael wants people to come out after 5 p.m., yet people in Marin just really don’t do that for the most part,” he said. “My crowd [at George's] is mainly ages 30 to 70 and just about 90 percent white. I think a mixed crowd is going to bring more business, especially for the nearby restaurants.”

San Rafael Economic Development Manager Stephanie Lovette said city officials have been examining the application submitted for the George's ownership transfer. She said city staff plan to meet with the current and potential new owners this week to “further discuss the use permit and what provisions will have to be made to keep the permit active.”

The permit, Lovette said, is “fairly specific about types of uses that can be involved in there,” including a necessary tie between the entertainment and food since it’s permitted as a “supper club.” 

“There are also obligations in terms of operating hours and noise. We will go through that with both new owners,” she said.

Carol Thompson, director of the Downtown San Rafael Business Improvement District,” said the ownership change is on the district’s radar, although she’s waiting to hear more details about the arrangement.

“We are most concerned about what the long-range plans are and how this could affect our nightlife downtown,” Thompson said.