South Bay’s Beloved Saint Rocke Set To Shutter: Report

HERMOSA BEACH, CA — A beloved Hermosa Beach music venue is set to close its doors — for a second time, according to media reports.

Rising costs, coupled with decreased attendance and alcohol sales, were among the reasons for the venue’s closure in December, Saint Rocke’s music director, Larry Little, told The Beach Reporter recently

“The decision to close wasn’t made lightly,” Little said in a written statement provided to Easy Reader News.

The building that houses Saint Rocke originally functioned as a bank in the 1920s and later transformed “into a vibrant music venue,” according to the venue’s website. Since its opening in 2008, "Saint Rocke has been the cornerstone of South Bay’s cultural scene.”

A number of notable artists have taken the stage at Saint Rocke, including “Bush, Gin Blossoms, Cheap Trick’s Robin Zander, The Dickies, Cypress Hill, and Don Dokken,” the venue’s website says.

At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Saint Rocke closed its doors, according to The Beach Reporter.

After changing ownership in January 2023, the venue reopened in May 2023 “after a three-year hiatus due to the pandemic,” according to Saint Rocke’s website.

While the first year after reopening proved profitable, the subsequent years were a different story, Little told Beach Reporter.

“It seems like the second year, all the people’s credit cards caught up with them from that year after COVID,” Little said.

The mounting financial hardships, with more than a 40% decline in attendance and alcohol sales, led to the decision to close, Little said in a statement to Easy Reader.

“We tried everything, adjusting prices, we tried different programming,” Little told Beach Reporter. “We really gave it a try, so it just never seemed to recover.”

Saint Rocke has nine more events planned before it closes, according to the venue’s website.

“Buy the tickets, see the shows. The news is out and there's not much left to say,” the venue said in a Facebook post. “We hope the Hermosa Beach community continues to see live music where it's available, continues to support local, and continues to Rocke. We love you Hermosa!”

Read the full reports at The Beach Reporter and Easy Reader News.