“This part of Hillcrest has really been improving over the last couple of years and this is good news when a business can reopen and breathe neighborhood life again,” Terpstra said. Luke Terpstra, chair of the Hillcrest Town Council, welcomed the property’s sale. “The days of the Flame being a ‘hole in the wall’ are over. Whatever happens, I am confident that the iconic signage and LGBT cultural influence will feature prominently at that location.” I do hope that the new owners seek out a creative entertainment concept that fits with the new hip feel of Park Boulevard,” he said. “I am enthusiastic to have the property continue as a nightlife and entertainment destination. New residential is always a good thing in Hillcrest,” said Ben Nicholls, executive director of Hillcrest Business Association.
“I am happy to hear that there is movement on this property. News of the sale of the vacant property quickly drew praise from several community leaders in Hillcrest. Until a tenant is signed for the cocktail lounge, there is no telling whether the bar will remain LGBT oriented. “They will be within the existing structure above the new cocktail lounge that will be reduced in size to 2,000 square feet and behind the new cocktail lounge and will go up a total of three stories, two more than the ground floor,” Nicholas said.
Nicholas explained where the apartments will be built in relationship to the existing building, which has 7,800 square feet and a basement. The developer said the 6,098-square-foot lot is already zoned for multi-use, so the addition of six apartments won’t require rezoning. Mike Spilky of Location Matters handled the sale and Paul Ahern of Location Matters will oversee the leasing of the cocktail lounge. The seller’s brokerage firm, Location Matters of Del Mar, stated in a news release that Duenas had operated The Flame since 2008. The Flame changed ownership again in 2010.” It changes ownership twenty years later, after being purchased by the owners of Numbers, a watering hole across the street. “ 1984 - The Flame, an old supper club on Park Blvd (named after a fire destroyed the first restaurant, The Garden of Allah), reopens as a lesbian bar. The “Hillcrest History Timeline” published on HillQuest’s website offers this tidbit about the old nightclub: “If it is designated as historic, I would love to have it acknowledged on the building.” “There is currently a study being done to see if it is, in fact, historic,” he said. Nicholas said The Flame building has never been designated as historical. Members of the LGBT community have been worried about saving buildings that have historical significance. “It will stay on the building and get restored to its former glory,” he vowed. Nicholas said he plans to “restore the façade” of the vintage building and keep the iconic sign. The exterior of the iconic nightclub, The Flame, on Park Boulevard (Courtesy of Location Matters) from seller Donny Duenas for $1.9 million, told San Diego Uptown News that he will be turning the single-story structure into a multi-use project by adding six apartments and a central courtyard. James Nicholas of Clownfish Partners, who bought the vacant property at 3780 Park Blvd. The Flame - a landmark lesbian bar that opened in 1984, and then changed hands 20 years later - was sold this week to a Hillcrest developer.