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Since shuttering last month, The Syndicate cocktail bar downtown Livermore is anticipated to reopen with a different concept this spring under new ownership.
Located at 2470 First St. Ste 100, the site was previously home to The Last Word, which closed temporarily last January as it rebranded to a mafia-inspired speakeasy dubbed The Syndicate. Under its new identity, the business operated for about one year.
Proprietor-in-waiting, Gianni Schell, is renaming the business to Le Nocturne — meaning night — and refashioning the bar and restaurant in a vintage Parisian style with contemporary French cuisine such as steak frites, trout amandine, a chicken dish called coq au vin and escargot.
Schell aims to open Le Nocturne during mid- to late-May and envisions the supper club as having elevated dining service and nightlife.
He is also the owner of Rebel Kitchen & Libations and co-owner of The Black Cat restaurant, both of which are also located on First Street in Livermore.
“What Gianni is doing is going to be something completely different than the town has seen, and even around the area,” The Syndicate co-owner Stewart McLean told Livermore Vine. “It’ll be nice to see our legacy passed on too.”
Stewart and Michelle McLean began considering selling The Syndicate about seven or eight months ago, he told Livermore Vine.
Marking their entrance into the scene of bar restaurant ownership, the couple viewed their business as especially near and dear.
“This was kind of our baby,” McLean said. “We took pride in The Last Word. We took pride in The Syndicate. We loved it.”
The McLeans own Mornings on First, a breakfast spot on First Street that they intend to maintain, and have other investment opportunities as well as regular jobs.
“We wanted more time back in our lives,” McLean said of the decision to sell The Syndicate.
Schell jumped on the opportunity to take the reins.
“I always thought it was a really cool location, and then when the opportunity presented itself, I couldn’t help myself,” Schell said.
“I’m just really excited about bringing something new and different to Livermore,” he added.
As Schell starts up Le Nocturne, he and The Black Cat co-owner Dina Parks are seeking a managing partner for the bar.
Parks is currently in charge of the bar’s daily operations, but is facing time constraints and has other ventures she wants to focus on, according to Schell.
If the two are unable to find a managing partner for The Black Cat, Schell said they will likely sell the business.
The restaurant is described as thriving and offering a “turnkey opportunity” on BizBen, an online marketplace for buying and selling businesses.
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