Everybody’s business

A night at The Beach
I’m sure a good portion of the student community is wondering when Chico’s going to get a decent dance club. And I know there’s an equally curious crowd conjecturing as to when The Brick Works building will re-open.

Well, fret not. Something is in the works, but don’t expect it until later this year, and don’t expect it to look the same.

Owner Rob Mowry said he’s “sparing no expense” in renovating the entire three-level building.

Mowry said The Chico Event Center will occupy the top floor and should open by May, and the second floor VIP Lounge and a ground-level dance club called The Beach will be ready in August.

Dinner theaters will be scheduled twice a month in the event center and, depending on demand, could go to once or twice a week, he said. The room will also be available for events for up to 200 people.

The VIP Lounge will cater to, shall we say, the sophisticated crowd. Mowry said the lounge would offer higher-end cocktails and that the décor will have sort of a ’60s vibe replete with lava lamps. Even more interesting will be the addition of the oxygen bar. For five bucks, anyone can plug the ol’ schnozzle up to the nosepiece for 10 minutes and have his or her blood oxygenated.

A 21-and-over dance club called The Beach will take over the ground level and give patrons access to Panama’s and the University Bar.

Moving on
After working for seven years from her Fourth and Broadway office, Mary Lou Snodgrass is moving her marriage and family therapy practice.

Snodgrass suffered the same fate as The Synthesis when she wasn’t offered a new lease in order to make room for conference rooms for the new Hotel Diamond.

Snodgrass’ new office is located on Manzanita Avenue, near Bidwell Junior High School. She said it’s a welcome change in that she works more with teens and couples instead of younger children. She also has a larger office but said there’s something about working downtown that can’t be replaced.

“I miss the people and the atmosphere … and, of course, the coffee,” she said.

Electric boogaloo
A new screenplay is in the works documenting a high school teacher from rural North Carolina who took a group of students and transformed a twice-totaled 1985 Ford Escort into a fully functional electric vehicle.

Eric Ryan, who’s now lived in Chico for seven years, participated in a similar project in Chico in 2002 when he took a group of six teenagers and transformed a 1965 Volkswagen Karmann Ghia into an electric car.

Ryan currently runs Best Year Yet, which brings his experience in North Carolina to other communities, offering development programs for local business leaders and teams.

Electric Dreams will be adapted from the 2004 book by Caroline Kettlewell and has been described as “Seabiscuit on wheels.”