After serving the corner of Broadway and Hermosa Avenue for nearly a decade, BLACK Bar will be closing its doors in Long Beach at 1800 E. Broadway.
It’s the end of an era for Bethany Black and Shannon McManus, owners of Black in Hollywood. The two have spent over three decades in the industry, with McManus operating the Viper Room from 1993 to 1998, where Bethany also worked. After this, they ran the Darkroom on Melrose before taking over BLACK in Hollywood in 2013. Now, according to LongBeachize, they have decided to sell the business to Pamela and Joshua Beadel, who operate The Breakfast Bar’s two locations. Black Bar is set to close at the end of April 2025.
“We are so proud of what we accomplished and happy that we’ve been able to give back to the community through various fundraisers,” the owners shared on Instagram. “We will always remain grateful to the Long Beach community for the time we had and connections made. Thank you. We will announce our final day in the coming weeks, and we hope you’ll spend some time with us before we close our doors the final time. Lastly, we implore you to support small businesses. Unless you have one and managed to make it through the pandemic years, you can’t imagine the hard work it took to keep going over the last 5 years. Small businesses are the heartbeat of this country, it is the place where human connections are made. We must fight to keep them alive. Thank you for supporting us all these years.”
The nature of what the Breakfast Bar owners will do with the space is unclear. Earlier this year, the duo submitted a liquor license application for a new concept called The Hare at this address. Despite not returning What Now’s requests for more information, the Beadels are excited to return to Long Beach, where Joshua is a native and even worked as a bartender at Hamburger Mary’s. The restaurant owners will have some big shoes to fill, especially in Long Beach’s LGBTQ neighborhood.
“Let’s just say this: We are extremely excited to be apart of the gayborhood.” Joshua Beadel tells Longbeachize.
First Black and now the Hare. Bars are a nuisance. The drunks who hang out on the steps to our apartment building are loud, inconsiderate and belligerent. I am so disgusted and disappointed.
Maybe The Hare will surprise and impress you! The Paradise was a great Jazz oriented concept at that location w/great food and live Jazz in addition to and complimenting the bar. Restaurant and Bar businesses aren’t always a nuisance. Ownership and management are the key to a successful and unobtrusive business. Being involved with the neighborhood and local government doesn’t hurt either!
I wish Josh and Pamela nothing but the best for the location and am confident they will do it right! And if they need my help I’m here (or there) for them in a momemts notice.
Sorry to hear you don’t like where you live, but you might wanna move Julie. This is why many of us enjoy living here is it’s walking distance to restaurants, bars and shops on 4th, Broadway, Ocean, and downtown is just down the street. I’d love to Welcome The Hare and hope the menu can expand since everyone loves Breakfast Bar grub and maybe entertain possible live music.