A storefront on West Florence Avenue that sat empty for five years could soon come back to life as Robles Lounge, a proposed bar and entertainment venue planned for 1437 and 1439 West Florence Avenue in South Los Angeles. The space would offer beer and wine for on-site consumption alongside live entertainment and public dancing, according to public filings.
The applicant behind the project is Magali Llerenas, who according to public filings has not yet provided a response to requests for comment, as first reported by WhatNow. The 1,890-square-foot storefront previously operated for 36 years as Club Reno, a neighborhood club that opened in 1985 and closed in 2021, after which the space sat vacant for five years, the outlet reports.
What the New Lounge Would Look Like
Plans call for a 271-square-foot bar area and a 191-square-foot dance floor within the larger footprint, per the same filings. The venue would accommodate live bands of up to three people, and would include darts, a pool table, and a jukebox for patrons. Indoors, the lounge would seat 38 people, with eight on-site parking spaces available outside.
To serve drinks, Llerenas will need to secure a license from the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control. The department's FAQ says no one under 21 may enter public premises and describes them as places where food is not served as at a bona fide eating place. A Type 41 license, by contrast, requires a venue to function as a bona fide eating place, according to the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control.
The storefront sits within Los Angeles City Council District 8, represented by Councilmember Marqueece Harris-Dawson, who became Los Angeles City Council President in September 2024, according to his Wikipedia profile. The city's Jobs and Economic Development Incentive zones offer business assistance and facade-improvement grants intended to improve curb appeal and reduce blight; the Community Investment Department administers the program and coordinates with EWDD on some services, according to the Community Investment Department.
A Corridor Rebuilding Around It
The broader South Los Angeles economic picture underlines why reactivating a single storefront matters locally. The South Los Angeles Transit Empowerment Zone (SLATE-Z) has an overall poverty rate of 45.59%, per the initiative.
Florence Avenue has seen steady commercial and real estate activity in recent years, per the original report, including a planned 27-unit apartment project at 1204 and 1206 West Florence Avenue. That follows the August 28, 2025, opening of the 127-unit Atlas Apartments supportive housing complex, adding residential density and foot traffic to the surrounding area.
A Compass listing describes 1401 West Florence Avenue in ZIP code 90047 as a one-story commercial property on a 0.27-acre parcel, according to Compass Real Estate.
Whether Robles Lounge will clear the full slate of city and state approvals, and on what timeline, remains to be seen. For now, the storefront that once housed Club Reno for 36 years stands as one more test case for whether South LA's commercial corridors can keep filling in the vacancies left behind.
