Viper Room

The Viper Room, the venerable Sunset Strip venue, has been sold. As of Feb. 1, the new majority owner is Pink Taco founder Harry Morton, whose father, Peter, founded the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino. Harry Morton, who might be best known in pop-culture circles for once dating Lindsay Lohan, plans to keep the Viper Room name, and he hopes to capitalize on the club’s international cachet by opening other Viper Rooms in cities such as Las Vegas and Scottsdale, Ariz. Former owners Blackhawk Capital will retain a minority stake in the new venture.

In addition, several East Coast cities have expressed interest in having their own Viper Rooms, sources say. Arich Berghammer, president of the yet-to-be-named company overseeing the chain of clubs, says that the Viper Room brand “is strong” and that they will not make significant changes at the management level. “It works as it is,” he says, adding that they will only make minor cosmetic changes to the Sunset Strip location.

Morton himself says that his “goal now is to shine up the gem and expand it nationally and internationally.” The Pink Taco owner plans to eventually open up new Viper Rooms in Miami, Portland, Seattle, New York, London and Tokyo.

Since 1993, the Viper Room has hosted big names in the music world, such as Johnny Cash, Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers and Stone Temple Pilots. Despite competition on the Strip from larger clubs such as the Key Club and the House of Blues, the Viper Room, once owned in part by Johnny Depp, has managed to stay relevant by hosting well-attended local music showcases on Monday evenings. It also helps that the occasional big-name star drops in for an impromptu jam session, such as John Mayer did in 2004 with ZZ Top guitarist Billy Gibbons, or Queens of the Stone Age, who have played the club several times over the last few years. It's become one of the lone scenester outposts on the Westside, with the popular "Ceck 1-2" night hosted by indie powerhouse 103.1 becoming a reliable tastemaking draw. Park at the $5 lot by the Hustler store and watch out for the $3 Dewars promotions if you want to avoid selling your children to drink there.

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