Sportsmen's Lodge Closes. Well Sort Of.

Bloggers and blue-hairs across the Valley were lamenting the closure of the Sportmen's Lodge banquet hall in Studio City.

Yet the full story hasn't really been told.

Indeed, following the purchase of the property by developer Richard Weintraub, the son of former LAUSD School Board President Roberta Weintraub, Patrick Holleran, the operator of the restaurant portion of the property was not able to reach a new lease with Weintraub and decided to close his business. New Year's Eve was the last time the restaurant served customers and shut down.

Yet the hotel portion of the property which also has it's own restaurant and banquet facilities will remain open. According to the hotel's manager, Michael Spencer, the hotel will take over managment of the restaurant and banquet center in February bringing the entire property under one operator for the first time in several years. According to locals, when the original owner of the decades old property died, it was split up amongst his heirs and as part of a family drama the hotel and restaurant businesses were divided though existing on the same property and carrying similar names.

Holleran says he owns the rights to the name and the business that was located there, one he plans to take to either Santa Clarita or Long Beach. However Weintraub's spokesman, longtime Valley policitcal consultant Steven Afriat, says the legal ownership of the name may be in question.

Weintraub's ultimate plans for the property are unclear, however he says he wants to re-open the restaurant and banquet facilities, perhaps bring back the lodge's legendary trout ponds and bring additional restaurants and retail onto the property.

However unifying management of the current facilities under the operators of the hotel is a good thing. The management of the hotel has received high marks for their events particularly from community organizations whereas the management of the restaurant was seen by some as being less than friendly and responsive to customer needs.

In the early 2000s, efforts were taken to secure protected historical status for the Sportsmen's Lodge. In 2002, the Studio City Residents Association, backed by the Los Angeles Conservancy, submitted an application to designate the Lodge's banquet center as a Historic-Cultural Monument. The Cultural Heritage Commission approved the historic designation and send it on to the Los Angeles City Council. However, the proposal was opposed by City Councilman Jack Weiss, who said that he "does not know anyone who considers Sportsmens Lodge to be significant."
Stay tuned.