Jaime Silva and Miriam Miranda are the new owners of Silva’s Nightclub in Monterey, the venue formerly known as The Jade Lounge. Silva says he's been in love with the venue since he was 18 years old, back when it was Planet Gemini; he recalls telling the then-owner, Anthony Lane, that he would one day own the nightclub.
Fast forward some 20 years, and he and his wife have now turned that dream into a reality. They’ve put in sweat equity with installing brand-new floors and repainting the walls (keeping the Big Sur mural in the main room).
Besides organizing what Silva describes as a messy place, he says one big change from the previous ownership is that employees and bands weren't being compensated fairly.
Another change, he says, is to offer more family-friendly, all-ages activities.
One of their missions as Silva’s Nightclub is to create a safe haven for youth to go out dancing and have some fun. With teen nights, charity car washes, and quinceañeras in their future—that's alongside a diverse nightly event calendar—Silva’s spacious two-room venue aims to be open to all. There's an emphasis on kid-friendly events during the daytime and events for adults only in the evenings.
"It’s a family thing, we want to keep it involved," Silva says. "Nighttime is for the adults and daytime is for the families.
"When I was a kid, I didn’t have money to pay for playing little league or stuff like that, so I know what it's like. We want to do things where kids can come and wash cars or have flea markets to pay for their uniforms. That’s what its all about, helping people out."