IRVINE : Nightclub OKd for Marketplace Center

Planners have unanimously approved a new nightclub in the Marketplace shopping center across from UC Irvine that will have a restaurant, sushi bar, pool tables, and a bar featuring live music and a dance floor.

The Planning Commission last week unanimously approved the 11,000-square-foot FX Club with the requirement that owners provide free valet parking to ward off a parking crunch during peak times at the Marketplace. The center includes a comedy club, bar, multi-screen movie theater and several restaurants.

The FX Club should open in the fall, said Jon Hanour, chairman of the Hanour Corp. It will include 13 pool tables, a 22-seat sushi bar, a medium-sized dance floor, a full menu with a mix of international foods and 1,000 square feet of outside dining, he said.

The commission’s approval was met with applause from dozens of Marketplace merchants, who said the club will help their businesses by drawing more customers to the center.

The FX Club will have decor and ambience similar to the company’s Shark Club in Costa Mesa, Hanour said. The club will cater mostly to the business crowd during the day and become a restaurant and nightclub for people in their 20s to 30s in the evenings, Hanour said.