Garden Grove : Tavern Denied Permit for Live Music, Dancing

A former gay bar that was recently sold and converted to a country-and-Western nightclub will not be permitted to have live entertainment and dancing.

The City Council on Monday granted a permit to Smokies Country Saloon, 8514 Garden Grove Blvd., that allows the bar to operate and serve beer and wine but not to have what the owner, Darlene Mills, asked for--a three-piece band and dancing. She said the gay bar, Mac’s Landing, had a permit for dancing and to revoke that right would “unduly restrict” her ability to make a profit.

Mills, who bought the bar last July for an undisclosed amount, said Tuesday that she is considering suing the city but that she would have to discuss the matter with her attorney first.

“It wouldn’t be a redneck cowboy bar. We’re country dancers,” she said. Mills said she taught the two-step and other country favorites at other bars before saving enough money to buy her own place.

She also submitted a petition signed by several area residents supporting her plans. Although nobody spoke against Mills’ proposal Monday, some residents living in homes behind the small shopping center where Smokies is located cited their opposition at a hearing in September. They said noise and traffic from the bar would increase considerably if a band were to play at the bar.

A Garden Grove police officer assigned to vice operations testified that numerous complaints have been received about the noise from Mac’s Landing and that much of the pedestrian traffic behind the bar involved “homosexual cruising.” He said a 24-hour adult bookstore in the same center also contributes to the problems.

Establishing a country nightclub would improve the area, rather than contribute to the problems, Mills said.