The Walnut Creek bar at the center of controversy is for sale — but there’s a catch

WALNUT CREEK — A back-alley bar known as a “hidden gem” for speakeasy vibes and trendy tunes in Walnut Creek is up for sale after the owner tussled with city officials last year.

Bidding starts at $250,000 to take the helm of Spoontonic Lounge, which is advertised online as a “high-profit, low-rent bar/night club” boasting a 2,300-square-foot property authorized to sell beer, wine and distilled spirits for consumption off the premises, without the requirement to also provide food services.

But prospective buyers eyeing this hole-in-the-wall — located at 2580 N Main St., tucked under an Indian eatery — should beware of one slight hiccup.

Owner Ajit Ahluwalia said his decision to sell the bar stems from an order last fall to start closing Spoontonic’s doors by midnight seven days a week — a change Walnut Creek officials hoped would help reduce police calls, violent crimes and general public nuisances around the property.

Ahluwalia, who purchased Spoontonic a decade ago, said business hasn’t recovered since the last call for drinks started two hours earlier than usual. The change has dissuaded many patrons, he claims, from coming in.

While the bar used to rake in up to $3,000 on Fridays and Saturdays, he said, the current weekend crowds generate no more than $500 a night. Ahluwalia said Spoontonic staff have occasionally closed as early as 10:30 p.m. because the bar is “dead.”

“Now I’m barely meeting my expenses,” Ahluwalia said in an interview, adding that his family has started the process of relocating out of California to find better financial opportunities. “(The city says) they want to promote and encourage small business owners, but on the other hand, they are pushing certain people to get out of business.”

Last August, the city’s Planning Commission handed down the shortened hours in an attempt to dissuade an uptick in problems that bar staff blamed on newer, younger patrons who “don’t know how to behave” since the pandemic.

The Walnut Creek City Council unanimously denied the bar owners’ appeal in October, declining to re-modify the Conditional Use Permit for the establishment after the city’s legal team and local authorities argued that the previous change was necessary to help mitigate drunken, rowdy behavior around the property — surrounded mostly by car dealerships and other businesses but near a residential area — and ongoing calls for police service. They cited instances involving public intoxication, possession of firearms, assaults and drug sales — behavior the elected leaders said violated citywide standards required to stay open late.

Ahluwalia said no one from the city has reached out to check in on their progress on reducing bad behavior and complaints.

The Walnut Creek Police Department did not respond to requests for data on police calls for service and other nuisances involving Spoontonic since last fall.

But City Manager Dan Buckshi said that Spoontonic was “a really bad actor” that needed to be held accountable for this mess, reiterating that the bar was given multiple warnings and opportunities to mitigate trouble but ultimately failed to do so.

“If they’re selling the business or going out of business, frankly, I think that’s their own doing,” Buckshi said in an interview Wednesday.

Ahluwalia has considered asking Walnut Creek officials — again — to reassess the midnight closure, saying that he might change his mind about selling the business if the 2 a.m. closure is reinstated. But for now, Spoontonic’s owner said that he felt the city’s lack of supportive engagement “pushed me out without any other options.”

“We’re selling because I simply don’t want to run this anymore,” Ahluwalia said. “It’s only about the hours. Otherwise, there is nothing wrong with the bar.”

Between March 2021 and October 2023, Police Lt. Bruce Jower said the department tallied 69 responses to Retro Junkie, an ’80s-themed bar closer to the city’s downtown, and only six incidents at Massés Sports Bar & Grill. In those same 31 months, WCPD received 41 calls for service at Spoontonic — including 38 events that occurred after 11 p.m.

Despite claims that Spoontonic had beefed up security before its hours were cut in the summer, Jower said police found patrons passed out in the parking lot just days before the bar’s hours of operation were slashed.

Spoontonic’s rent is $4,653 a month, according to the business’ online listing, while utilities are shared with another tenant; the bar is currently responsible to pay for half of the property insurance and electricity costs, a third of garbage and water service charges, and a quarter of all gas bills.

While the owner estimates that their annual net income currently sits around $125,000, the bar’s cash flow has slumped dramatically without the ability to sling drinks into the early morning hours. Ahluwalia said his sales tax bills averaged about $4,000 each month from 2021 to 2023 — when the bar was still allowed to stay open until 2 a.m. — but the amount due this July was only $788.

Spoontonic staff explicitly warned city officials that the small business might not be able to survive the reduced hours. Lead bartender Dani St. Pierre reported last year that roughly 70% of their revenue was collected after midnight.

Mayor Loella Haskew on Wednesday held firm that city officials will not tolerate the inability to quell illegal and dangerous behavior.

“This consequence fit the crime,” Haskew said about Spoontonic over the phone. “We want our businesses to be good, solid citizens and follow the rules, and we will do whatever we can to help them. But if you have circumstances that continue to replicate, and you find yourself calling the police often, you ought to know that you shouldn’t have those circumstances.”

While Ahluwalia has not yet gotten many bites since the bar’s sale went public, he said he thinks new entrepreneurs could still find success and continue Spoontonic Lounge’s legacy.

“I think it’s a very good spot for an enthusiastic business owner,” Ahluwalia said. “But Walnut Creek (has shown that it) won’t do anything to help.”