Former Mountain Charley’s saloon to feature rotating themes, events
Restaurateur Alex Hult and event producer Donovan Friedman weren’t really planning to take over the shuttered Mountain Charley’s saloon from the Farwell family.
“We were talking about how to inject some more life into downtown Los Gatos,” Hult said. “Specifically nightlife. It’s sorely lacking here in Los Gatos. Donovan and I had been kicking around a concept of an immersive experience. We weren’t really looking for a place, but then Mountain Charley’s was available.”
The pair recently took over the lease on the old Mountain Charley’s, which opened in 1972 and have already posted the ABC permit for the name “Immersive Los Gatos.” The plan is for a seasonally rotating popup theme bar with dinner shows and special events. Come the end of September, the old Mountain Charley’s space at 15 N. Santa Cruz Ave. is set be transformed into The Haunted Bar, where guests can come for dinner theater, special movie screenings, parties and more.
For Friedman, this is like coming home.
“Literally, I grew up in Los Gatos and Saratoga,” he said. “I played football for Saratoga High and we played our games at Los Gatos High.”
Friedman and Hult met when Friedman helped put on the grand opening party for the new outdoor patio for Hult’s in 2015. When Hult told him Mountain Charley’s was for sale, Friedman said, “I practically jumped at the idea. Mountain Charley’s is very nostalgic for me.”
Friedman began his career as “DJ Donovan” in San Francisco in 2001. Until 2014, he found himself putting on parties and fashion shows at various venues in the city, including a restaurant in Ghirardelli Square that used to be owned by Cheech Marin and Don Johnson.
As he got older, he decided that the late-night bar scene wasn’t holding as much appeal.
“I wanted to go out with my friends, but preferred to do it over dinner and drinks,” Friedman said. “I also really liked the idea of themed experiences.”
His reputation as a party planner grew. He created ThemeDream Productions, and gradually transitioned from holding invitation-only parties at big venues to doing themed events for Halloween and New Year’s Eve.
His first big successful theme dinner was a Parisian-style cabaret for Valentine’s Day in 2015, which sold out immediately. This was followed by The Haunted Dinner, staged in October of that year at the historical Payne Mansion in San Francisco.
In 2019, ThemeDream Productions was hired by Winchester Mystery House to redesign their Halloween attraction, which was called “Unhinged.” Palace of Fine Arts hired ThemeDream Productions to produce a 4,000-person fairytale New Year’s Eve gala called “Imagine” in 2017.
One of the aspects of the new collaboration with Hult is that Friedman gets to put a lot of people to work after they’ve been sidelined for the last 18 to 19 months. He’ll be utilizing planners, fabricators, set designers
and builders, writers, actors, singers, dancers, directors, costume makers, videographers, graphic designers and lighting and audio specialists.
“It feels great to be calling people and telling them I’ve got work for them,” Friedman said. “And not just for a few days, but steady work.”
When asked about the food and beverage service, which is his bailiwick, Hult said he hadn’t worked out the details yet, but said, “We expect to have a variety of food from local Los Gatos downtown restaurants.”
Friedman imagines that there will be as many dinner shows during the week as there is demand and then the place can be rented out for private parties, taking advantage of the immersive decor.
“We will still have late night DJs and dancing,” he said. “We haven’t abandoned the nightlife component of the space that Charley’s was known for.”
Friedman also wants to cater to the under-21 crowd. He envisions having families come in for movie matinees on weekends and “familyfriendly” versions of his live dinner shows at lunchtime.
“We’ll do New Year’s Eve for sure, and then maybe ‘Alice in Wonderland,’ ” he said. “I’m looking forward to entertaining my friends’ kids.”