Nightclub in San Clemente Opening ‘Next Door’

One of the few nightclubs this side of Laguna Beach is getting ready to open Friday in San Clemente.

The staff of The Next Door, near the Krikorian movie theater on Camino de los Mares, is busy preparing the restaurant for its new weekend role as a late-night dance venue.

“You have to bring in that 10 p.m.-and-after crowd,” said Jason Hayes, who has owned the restaurant for about a month with his wife, Erin. “You can double your sales.”

The Hayeses bought The Next Door from its former owners, who had operated the site as a Melting Pot franchise. The Melting Pot closed about eight months ago and the former owners converted it to The Next Door before deciding to sell and focus on their two other Melting Pot locations, the Hayeses said.

Christopher Morton, the nightclub's new manager, said he hopes to create an upscale experience for customers.

“I want to create a good atmosphere for dancing, where you can come to get a five-star meal,” he said. “There’s VIP bottle service and a VIP booth in the back.”

He also wants to establish theme nights. Friday's grand opening, for instance, will feature a contest to select the “hottest girl next door,” the winner of which will get $300 in gift certificates to Victoria's Secret. 

Later, the club will host a masquerade ball and other theme nights.

“Girls like going out and getting dressed up,” Morton said. “If we can do that once or twice a month, that will really set us apart.”

All-night drink specials should also help draw crowds Friday; three different drinks will be offered for $2, $3 and $4. For the grand opening, there will be no cover charge, and the evening will kick off an hour earlier than usual, at 9 p.m.

Down the road, Morton said, the other half of the 6,800-square-foot restaurant/club will open as a second dance floor with a different kind of music than the area next to the bar.

The restaurant part of The Next Door is open from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday. It serves American fusion cuisine made with all-fresh ingredients, the owners said.

Erin Hayes suggests first-time diners try the bacon-wrapped dates stuffed with cream cheese, the ciao bella pasta or the brie wrapped in pastry dough and baked. She also said the hamburgers were hand-ground from top sirloin and mixed with a touch of ground bacon.

This is a new venture for the Hayeses, who live in Temecula but plan to move to San Clemente after the last of their three children graduates from high school this year.

Jason Hayes said that, after a successful construction business and a business manufacturing recycled-glass countertops, he and his wife figured a bar/restaurant would be a great way to fill the time with their kids all in college.