Winstons Beach Club, the 198-capacity Ocean Beach club that has booked touring acts like KRS-One, Slightly Stoopid, Steel Pulse, NRBQ and Ike Turner over nearly 40 years, is about to look and sound different. The Bacon Street venue will hold a public last-call send-off party this Saturday, then reopen the next day under new ownership and, likely, a new name.
A Send-Off Before the Overhaul Begins
According to the San Diego Union-Tribune, the club plans to reopen the day after Saturday's party and begin rebranding as soon as the following week. Co-owner Scott Slaga told the paper the new name could be announced as soon as next Wednesday, and he was direct about one thing: Winstons is not closing. The changes amount to an expansion and rebrand tied to a partial ownership shift, not a shutdown.
Slaga is the only continuing original co-owner of Winstons, per the same report. He and a silent partner will now run the club after buying out the ownership interests held by fellow original co-owners Michael S. Stifano and Edward William “Ted” Wigler. Slaga and Stifano originally bought Winstons from founder Bill Winston in 1998, a decade after the pair had already purchased 710 Beach Club in Pacific Beach back in 1989.
New Kitchen, No More Cover Charges
The rebuilt Winstons will add a full-service kitchen serving classic pub food and expand its daytime hours, ultimately operating from noon until 2 a.m. seven days a week, the Union-Tribune reports. Nightly admission cover charges will be eliminated, and the club is installing enhanced audio and lighting systems. Comedy nights are coming back into rotation alongside trivia and the venue's longtime karaoke tradition, including karaoke hosted by local entertainer Jose Sinatra, as detailed by the San Diego Reader.
On the music side, the format is shifting away from costly national touring acts toward local cover bands and tribute groups, plus new electronica and dance-music DJ performances on Saturdays and Wednesdays. That booking pivot lines up with the hire of new general manager Brandon Colt, an Ocean Beach native who previously managed Spin nightclub in Middletown.
Familiar Faces Filling New Roles
Slaga is leaning on his existing 710 Beach Club team to run the expanded operation. Laura Lazano, currently 710's food manager, will become Winstons' food manager, while Owen Boles, 710's talent buyer, takes on the same role at Winstons. Tara Hilal, who has served as Winstons' staff manager for at least 25 years, will remain in that role, providing continuity through the changeover.
One thing the ownership group is not touching: the Electric Waste Band's Monday night residency. The award-winning Grateful Dead tribute act has performed almost every Monday night at Winstons for 37 years, and basketball legend Bill Walton was an honorary member of the band before his 2024 death. Following Walton's passing, nearly 200 fans packed Winstons during the band's weekly show to honor him, where he had regularly sat in as a guest percussionist, according to Axios San Diego.
A Neighborhood Under Nightlife Pressure
Slaga acknowledged that the live-music world is generally struggling, a reality Winstons has confronted before. The club closed for much of 2020 and 2021 during pandemic shutdowns before reopening on August 7, 2021, relaunching live performances with the Electric Waste Band. That financial strain has hit other San Diego venues even harder recently: Brick by Brick shut permanently in Bay Park last month after 31 years in business.
Winstons also faces direct neighborhood competition. The Holding Company, an Ocean Beach venue with a three-story setup and capacity of up to 660, dwarfs Winstons' 198-person room, while another nearby spot, The Harp, holds between 200 and 300 people. Against those larger footprints, the new kitchen and expanded hours give Winstons a way to compete for daytime beachgoers as well as nightlife crowds.
For now, the club's identity remains tied to the building's long history, which dates back to 1986 as a blues and biker bar before Bill Winston converted it into a reggae and jam-band hub in 1990. Whatever name eventually replaces Winstons on the marquee, Slaga's team says the goal is keeping a nearly 40-year-old Ocean Beach landmark alive rather than closing its doors for good.
