Dueling pianos in Costa Mesa? Planning Commission will consider proposal for the Triangle

Will a proposal to open a dueling-piano club in The Triangle strike a chord with the Costa Mesa Planning Commission?

The answer could come Monday, when commissioners are scheduled to review a request to open the new entertainment venue — Keys on Main — in a vacant ground-level space on the south end of the downtown commercial complex.

If approved, the property would be the chain’s fourth location, joining existing sites in Salt Lake City, Seattle and Tacoma, Wash.

“We believe our brand of evening entertainment is going to bring a unique experience and attract a wide demographic to not only The Triangle but to the city as well,” Keys on Main President George Hasenohrl wrote in a letter to the commission dated March 23.

Dueling-piano clubs like the one proposed for Costa Mesa feature two entertainers playing pianos on a stage.

Shows are interactive, and the song selection can come from a variety of genres — country, rock ’n’ roll, jazz, even hip-hop.

Alcohol and limited food service would be offered at Keys on Main.

Hasenohrl wrote that he envisions the venue as “after-dinner entertainment,” with people eating elsewhere before going to the show.

Keys on Main is proposed for The Triangle’s former Gap location, an approximately 8,500-square-foot space at the corner of Newport and Harbor boulevards.

“Our business will not be audible across any street or bothersome to any neighboring property owner,” Hasenohrl wrote. “But in fact, Newport Boulevard traffic noise is a greater concern to us on Friday and Saturday evenings.”

The proposed hours of operation are 9 p.m. to 2 a.m. Thursdays through Sundays.

City staff members recommend the commission set the closing time at 1 a.m. to reduce potential parking and traffic conflicts with Time Nightclub, which also is in The Triangle and is open until 2 a.m. Wednesdays through Saturdays.

Other suggested conditions of approval apply to The Triangle as a whole. For instance, staff recommends eliminating passenger pickup and drop-off areas on Harbor to reduce traffic effects and suggests the property’s owner, Irvine-based Greenlaw Partners, consider revising the valet parking plan to encourage wider use.

Staff also recommends providing additional security for crowd control on nights when both Time and Keys on Main are open.

The Planning Commission meeting starts at 6 p.m. at City Hall, 77 Fair Drive.

Before the regular meeting, a study session is scheduled for 5 p.m. so commissioners can receive training on the city’s residential design guidelines and small-lot ordinance.

That meeting, which also is open to the public, will be held in Conference Room 1A on the first floor of City Hall.

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