The Victorian at 2640 Main St. closes after its annual Halloween party on October 31. The Sunday farmers market in its parking lot is supposed to keep going. The market sets up on the lot, but it also relies on the house for restrooms, storage, power and water. The lawn where families spread out for lunch belongs to the same site. When the Victorian becomes a members club, the market's daily needs will be covered by a lease commitment, not by a restaurant that happens to be open on Sunday mornings.
A City-Owned House With a Private Tenant
The Victorian is owned by the City of Santa Monica, and that is why the city has a say in what happens next. The house was built in 1903 as the Kyte House at 1003 Ocean Ave. In 1977 it was moved to Main Street together with the Roy Jones House. The developer who had planned to demolish both donated them and paid for the move as a condition of redeveloping the Ocean Avenue lots. The Roy Jones House, built in 1894, is now the California Heritage Museum, across the lawn from the Victorian.
Ocean Park Restaurant Corporation has held the lease since 1978, and The Victorian has operated there for about 20 years. According to the Santa Monica Daily Press, operators Garner Gerson and Adir Tal went to the city in late 2025 and said the nightclub business had run its course. On March 24, 2026, the City Council voted 7-0 to assign the lease to Santamonican Club LLC, with Gerson and Tal listed as managers. The public found out on October 5, when the Victorian posted its closing notice on Instagram, as the Daily Press reported.
The new name is The Santa Monican. Plans include a pool, a spa and fitness center, a family and youth facility, a coffee bistro, a restaurant and bar, and gardens. The operators will pay for the renovation without public subsidy or rent credits. Membership details and pricing have not been announced.
What the Market Borrows From the House
The Main Street Farmers Market has run at this address since 1995. It operates Sundays year-round, rain or shine, and is open to shoppers from 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. The city's staff report on the lease gives a longer operating window of 6:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., which covers setup and breakdown. It counts about 28 farmers, 14 food vendors and 5 Main Street merchants on the parking lot. Community booths and musicians use the driveway and the lawn between the two houses.
The staff report also explains why this market works differently from the city's three other weekly markets. It estimates that about 70% of Sunday visitors stay one to two hours, many of them picnicking on the lawn with food from the vendors. It says the Sunday market "is widely regarded as the most family-friendly" of the four, "largely due to the presence of this lawn."
So the lawn and the building's utilities do much of the work that defines this market. Here is how each piece is supplied today and what the amended lease says about it.
| What the market uses | How it works today | What the amended lease says |
|---|---|---|
| Restrooms | The Victorian opens its restrooms to farmers and customers during market hours | The operator commits to keep providing access |
| Storage | The market stores items on-site | Continued, as part of the same commitment |
| Power and water | Supplied from the Victorian's facilities | Continued, as part of the same commitment |
| The lawn | Reached through the active driveway | Public access "will not be reduced"; a new entrance planned directly from Main Street |
| Public parking | 25 public spaces on the site | Remain open to the public |
The lawn entrance is the change shoppers will notice most. According to the staff report, the site "experienced operational challenges" when the line between the driveway and the lawn was not clearly marked. A dedicated entry from the Main Street sidewalk is meant to keep people walking to the lawn clear of cars entering and leaving the property.
What the Lease Puts in Writing
The city wrote public benefits into this lease because it owns the building. Mayor Caroline Torosis spoke about both the loss and the reason for those terms in comments published by the Santa Monica Daily Press:
"The Victorian holds 20 years of birthdays, dates and nights out with friends, and I understand why people are sad to see it go."
She also said that "this building belongs to the city, so we wrote public benefits into its lease." The Daily Press and the staff report together list these terms:
- Up to 20% of memberships set aside as free scholarship memberships for qualifying Santa Monica residents, including families, educators and small business owners
- Current Victorian employees kept on, local hiring benchmarks, and a "first job" program for local youth
- Free community events and an annual charity gala
- In the first year after opening, a winter community event, a spring event coordinated with the Main Street Business Improvement Association and the Ocean Park Association, and a fall gathering for neighborhood businesses and community organizations
- In-kind food, beverage and marketing support for California Heritage Museum events held several times a year, with the museum as lead organizer
- An annual report to the city on community events, attendance and partnerships
What the Lease Leaves Open
The lease covers the market's needs once the club is running. It says little about the time in between. The staff report estimates the renovation will take 12 to 18 months. The Daily Press reports that work is expected to start in late 2026, with opening targeted for mid-2028. Counting forward from a late-2026 start, that period covers more than a year of Sunday markets.
The scope is large. The report lists roof replacement, new mechanical and HVAC systems, new interior and exterior flooring, exterior siding and façade work, a commercial kitchen renovation, a new pool, landscaping, and "full perimeter fencing and security including new windows and doors." It does not lay out a phase-by-phase schedule. It also does not say whether the market's setup on the lot, its use of restrooms and utilities, or the lawn will change while that work is underway.
The lawn terms also carry a qualifier. The report says the lawn will remain visible and accessible from the street and "available for public use during designated access periods," consistent with the Heritage Museum's existing lease. Those periods will be defined in operating details that have not been published. So far, the city's commitment for Sunday mornings is that the market continues and access does not shrink from current conditions.
The Last Two Sundays With the Victorian Open
The calendar is short. October 31 falls on a Saturday this year, so October 18 and October 25 are the last two Sunday markets while the Victorian is still operating as a restaurant.
October 18 is the busier of the two. The Main Street Business Improvement Association is holding its free Main Street Block Party + Day of the Dog from noon to 6 p.m. The program includes live music and DJs, classic cars, a beer garden, children's activities and a Route 66 Centennial theme, and the event benefits the Santa Monica Animal Shelter. The farmers market is part of the day. The city lists Main Street as closed from Pier Avenue to Pacific Street from 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. that day.
The California Heritage Museum at 2612 Main St. is open Wednesday through Sunday, 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., with free admission on Fridays. Its current exhibition, "Some Assemblage Required," shows assemblage work by Lou D'Elia, an artist who grew up in Ocean Park, through November 15, 2026. It is a short walk across the lawn from the market.
The Victorian itself operates as a restaurant during the day, with weekend brunch, dinner and happy hour. On weekends, DJs play in the basement, on the main floor and upstairs, according to the Los Angeles Times. The basement space opened to the public as Basement Tavern in July 2010. The Halloween party on October 31 is the final weekend.
After that, the next public milestones for 2640 Main St. are a construction start in late 2026, a membership pricing announcement in the coming months, and the first winter community event the lease requires once the club opens.
A city-owned lease like this one can change daily life on a block for years before the new club opens. If you own near Main Street and want to understand what a change like this means for your property, Jeffrey Sachs can walk you through it calmly and in detail. Schedule a consultation.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.
