Life at Night

Inside

THE MODELS were draping themselves with blankets. It was cold, as an evening wind was blowing in through open windows. Actually, the windows weren’t open——they were nonexistent. That’s because one of the photo shoots for our “Love the Nightlife” cover story took place in a club still under construction. Universal is slated to open in early May. The ownership team, the prodigious EnDev (they brought Stingaree, Bar West and several other local hot spots to life), was eager to get the club photo-ready for our shoot. They set up a dark wood bar and brought out bottled spirits to line it. On camera, the architecture looked stunning. Meanwhile, as a trio of chilly models could attest, the remainder of the place was still a hard-hat zone.

Thanks to EnDev for allowing us to get the exclusive first shots of what is being called a keen social experiment. Universal is in Hillcrest. EnDev hopes it will be a magnet for gay and straight clientele to commingle. Can we all just get along? We’ll see.

Including Universal, we picked 20 new nightlife spots to feature. We decided “new” qualified as having sprung to life, or significantly remodeled, after January 2007. There were 2006 candidates we wanted to include, but a self-imposed rule is still a rule. Please note that along with our suggestions on where to groove into the night, we include options for getting home safely if you’ve passed your liquor-intake limit.

And now comes the part where I bemoan the hard work and angst that goes into researching a nightlife guide. Not.

INDEED, WE LOVE THE NIGHTLIFE, but we still admire a well-done feature story. And in that regard we welcome Mark Sauer to the pages of San Diego Magazine. Before taking a December buyout from The San Diego Union-Tribune, Sauer was a four-time Pulitzer Prize–nominated investigative journalist. His piece for this issue is about former schoolteacher Thad Jesperson. Sent to prison on charges of child molestation, Jesperson’s charges were recently dropped, and he is now a free man. Sauer expertly takes us inside the jail and inside the mind of a man ultimately exonerated for ghastly crimes he did not commit.

There’s plenty more for the mind and the eye this month. Scott Kramer gives us a preview of the forthcoming U.S. Open golf championship at Torrey Pines. With baseball season upon us, Tom Cushman takes a look back at the characters who made up the Padres 1984 World Series team. We also review a pair of wine bars, dialogue with a city attorney candidate and issue a call to action to vote in the June 3 primary.

Enjoy the issue, and we’ll see you on the nightlife scene. Cheers.

RON DONOHO
Executive Editor
rond@sandiegomagazine.com

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