The local Santa Monica watering hole that served Jim Morrison is back open for the next wave of music lovers. When I first moved to LA in 2014, Circle Bar wasn’t just A stop of the night, it was THE ONLY stop of the night. Finding a place I could drag my Universal Music Group colleagues to was a feat in itself, but we could always agree on Circle Bar as the place to meet. If you know nightlife, you know how a perfectly un-curated curated bar stands apart. And apart from the obvious, the giant circular bar creates a sense of community, whether you like it or not. Strangers become dance partners and dance partners become regulars.
Since 1949, Circle Bar was a music haven. What started as a neighborhood watering hole on Main Street evolved into one of Santa Monica’s most important nostalgic bars. As rumored, the dance floor has a gravitational pull that seems to be a magnet for artists and musicians who understand that the best nights happen in small rooms with the right people. Jim Morrison knew it. Truman Capote knew Anthony Kiedis knew it. The crowd always knew it.
Now, under new ownership from Mark and Addie Van Gessel, the Westside hospitality duo behind Venice’s Hinano Cafe and Santa Monica’s Tavern on Main, Circle Bar reopened its doors on May 22nd, 2026, with a music program built to honor that legacy. The original floor plan, unchanged since 1949, stays intact, but the sound? Completely reimagined. “We made the DJ a centerpiece,” said Mark Van Gessel. “They were sitting over here, to the side, you really didn’t even see them. They weren’t spotlighted. So, we wanted to make sure that the DJ was the center and focus, and we made the booth just for that. The result is The Halo, an elevated DJ booth positioned at the heart of the room, making it clear music is at the center.
A fully upgraded QSC speaker system fills the room so you can hear the music better than ever, while a newly digitally controlled Chauvet lighting rig wraps around the venue’s iconic disco ball. A rotating roster of local and regional DJs will be leading the programming, along with future guest appearances.
This is a dance floor that demands to be used. A sound system that rewards it and a room with seventy-plus years of stories soaked into its walls. The feeling is back. The locals are ready. The dancing will continue. Main Street has Circle Bar back.
Circle Bar is located on Main Street in Santa Monica. Open nightly.
