SanDiegoVille contacted Theatre Box co-founder Elie Samaha (pictured left) with detailed questions for this story. He responded at length. His answers are incorporated throughout this article, alongside the public record that frames them.
The address is familiar to anyone who has followed downtown San Diego's nightlife beat over the past decade: 701 Fifth Avenue, a sprawling 73,000-square-foot building in the heart of the Gaslamp Quarter that has cycled through more identities, and more catastrophes, than almost any comparable property in the city's history.
On February 19, 2026, a quiet but consequential entry appeared in California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control records: the troubled Type 47 on-sale general eating place license previously associated with Mr. Tempo Cantina was filed for transfer from its old holder, 701 Fifth Ave LLC under license number 585816, to a new entity, 701 Fifth Avenue, LLC, under license number 677002. The new entity's officers are listed as Elie Kheir Samaha, manager and member, and Freddy Braidi, member.
Both licenses are currently listed as pending and under indefinite suspension. Alcohol service remains legally barred. The building largely sits dark, though a small food stand has recently appeared on the sidewalk along Fifth Avenue, a modest sign of life at an address better known lately for death, litigation, and regulatory ruin.
The address is familiar to anyone who has followed downtown San Diego's nightlife beat over the past decade: 701 Fifth Avenue, a sprawling 73,000-square-foot building in the heart of the Gaslamp Quarter that has cycled through more identities, and more catastrophes, than almost any comparable property in the city's history.
On February 19, 2026, a quiet but consequential entry appeared in California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control records: the troubled Type 47 on-sale general eating place license previously associated with Mr. Tempo Cantina was filed for transfer from its old holder, 701 Fifth Ave LLC under license number 585816, to a new entity, 701 Fifth Avenue, LLC, under license number 677002. The new entity's officers are listed as Elie Kheir Samaha, manager and member, and Freddy Braidi, member.
Both licenses are currently listed as pending and under indefinite suspension. Alcohol service remains legally barred. The building largely sits dark, though a small food stand has recently appeared on the sidewalk along Fifth Avenue, a modest sign of life at an address better known lately for death, litigation, and regulatory ruin.
Before it was a cautionary tale, 701 Fifth Avenue was a movie-theater anchor in the Gaslamp Quarter. Originally constructed in 1997, the building operated as a 15-screen Reading Cinemas Gaslamp 15 for nearly two decades before its abrupt closure in early 2016. That departure left a massive hole in the district's entertainment corridor and set the stage for an ambitious reinvention.
In December 2018, the site reopened as Theatre Box, a luxury dine-in cinema and entertainment complex tied to Elie Samaha, the owner of Hollywood's TCL Chinese Theatre brand, with Sugar Factory American Brasserie as a headline tenant. The original pitch was dazzling. Nick Cannon's Wild 'N Out Sports Bar & Arcade occupied a Sixth Avenue-facing space. Nick Jonas' Villa One Tequila Gardens took over the rooftop. The building also housed eight luxury movie theaters. Longtime Hollywood producer and real estate tycoon Elie Samaha's involvement was touted in local media at the time as a mark of prestige.
The celebrity concepts did not last. Nick Jonas' rooftop survived less than three months. Nick Cannon's sports bar operated under a year. The pandemic gutted the cinema model entirely. By late 2022, Sugar Factory had closed, the theaters had gone dark, and the building that had opened with such fanfare was essentially empty. By January 2023, less than five years after the grand opening, the building was again hunting for an identity.
That identity crisis allowed the Mr. Tempo era to take hold. Following a reported $10 million makeover, Jorge "Mr. Tempo" Cueva, a veteran restaurateur whose portfolio included Tempo Urban Kitchen and King & Queen Cantina in Little Italy, took over as the building's anchor tenant. Mr. Tempo Cantina occupied the former Sugar Factory space. Cielo Rooftop Lounge operated above. The building's shared liquor license, held under 701 Fifth Ave LLC with officers including Carol Braidi, Sherwin Jarol, and several holding companies, covered all operations under one regulatory umbrella.
The Mr. Tempo era did not go smoothly either. San Diego County health inspectors ordered the building closed multiple times throughout 2025, in February, September, October, and November, citing major vermin and sanitation violations. Building inspectors also uncovered multiple incidents of unpermitted work taking place the property, including the construction of a DJ booth and a boxing ring.
The celebrity concepts did not last. Nick Jonas' rooftop survived less than three months. Nick Cannon's sports bar operated under a year. The pandemic gutted the cinema model entirely. By late 2022, Sugar Factory had closed, the theaters had gone dark, and the building that had opened with such fanfare was essentially empty. By January 2023, less than five years after the grand opening, the building was again hunting for an identity.
That identity crisis allowed the Mr. Tempo era to take hold. Following a reported $10 million makeover, Jorge "Mr. Tempo" Cueva, a veteran restaurateur whose portfolio included Tempo Urban Kitchen and King & Queen Cantina in Little Italy, took over as the building's anchor tenant. Mr. Tempo Cantina occupied the former Sugar Factory space. Cielo Rooftop Lounge operated above. The building's shared liquor license, held under 701 Fifth Ave LLC with officers including Carol Braidi, Sherwin Jarol, and several holding companies, covered all operations under one regulatory umbrella.
The Mr. Tempo era did not go smoothly either. San Diego County health inspectors ordered the building closed multiple times throughout 2025, in February, September, October, and November, citing major vermin and sanitation violations. Building inspectors also uncovered multiple incidents of unpermitted work taking place the property, including the construction of a DJ booth and a boxing ring.
Samaha disputed this characterization in his response to SanDiegoVille, writing that "some warnings were issued due to construction and related activities on the premises" and that health citations are "a joint responsibility of the property owner and the tenants," with leases placing remediation obligations on tenants. Public health records document the closures regardless.
Public records obtained by SanDiegoVille through a California Public Records Act request to the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department paint an additional picture of how active this address has been for emergency services. Between January 2020 and November 2025, fire and rescue personnel responded to 701 Fifth Avenue a total of 132 times, 91 medical incidents and 41 non-medical incidents including fire alarms, system malfunctions, and one confirmed structure fire in February 2021. The fire alarm calls alone became a drumbeat of their own: starting in early 2024, the building generated so many ringing alarm responses that crews were dispatched and canceled en route on at least a dozen occasions in a single calendar year. By the summer of 2025, fire units were still being sent to the address with striking regularity, including multiple calls in the weeks immediately surrounding the August 3 shooting. The medical incident records are largely redacted under protected health information rules, but the sheer volume, 91 calls in under six years, adds another layer to the portrait of a building that has required extraordinary amounts of public-safety attention while its owners and operators cycled through disputes over who was responsible for what.
In the spring of 2025, two additional concepts launched inside the building under separate operators. Cowboy Cantina, a country-themed bar, opened and promoted itself aggressively before quietly going dark within months. The Roxbury, a heavily promoted revival of the famous 1990s Hollywood nightclub that inspired the 1998 Will Ferrell film, debuted in September 2025 to significant fanfare, including coverage in Page Six, where its partnership with nightlife operator Jim Valdez was announced. It lasted less than a month. When it shuttered in October 2025, it reportedly left staff unpaid for multiple weeks of labor.
Public records obtained by SanDiegoVille through a California Public Records Act request to the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department paint an additional picture of how active this address has been for emergency services. Between January 2020 and November 2025, fire and rescue personnel responded to 701 Fifth Avenue a total of 132 times, 91 medical incidents and 41 non-medical incidents including fire alarms, system malfunctions, and one confirmed structure fire in February 2021. The fire alarm calls alone became a drumbeat of their own: starting in early 2024, the building generated so many ringing alarm responses that crews were dispatched and canceled en route on at least a dozen occasions in a single calendar year. By the summer of 2025, fire units were still being sent to the address with striking regularity, including multiple calls in the weeks immediately surrounding the August 3 shooting. The medical incident records are largely redacted under protected health information rules, but the sheer volume, 91 calls in under six years, adds another layer to the portrait of a building that has required extraordinary amounts of public-safety attention while its owners and operators cycled through disputes over who was responsible for what.
In the spring of 2025, two additional concepts launched inside the building under separate operators. Cowboy Cantina, a country-themed bar, opened and promoted itself aggressively before quietly going dark within months. The Roxbury, a heavily promoted revival of the famous 1990s Hollywood nightclub that inspired the 1998 Will Ferrell film, debuted in September 2025 to significant fanfare, including coverage in Page Six, where its partnership with nightlife operator Jim Valdez was announced. It lasted less than a month. When it shuttered in October 2025, it reportedly left staff unpaid for multiple weeks of labor.
When SanDiegoVille asked about those unpaid wage claims, Samaha wrote that his ownership entity "has no responsibility for the wage and hour claims against Roxbury," and that the manager of the now-closed club indicated "all these claims have been settled." Attorney John Boyko, representing Valdez, told SanDiegoVille that Valdez was removed from management on October 26, 2025, the same day the nightclub ceased operations, is "aware of the various creditor and employee claims," and is "actively attempting to address these concerns with current management." Nobody from 701 Fifth Ave. Properties LLC clarified who is ultimately responsible for satisfying those obligations.
Despite being marketed as four distinct venues, Mr. Tempo Cantina, Cielo Rooftop Lounge, Cowboy Cantina, and The Roxbury were not legally separate businesses. ABC records confirm they all operated under a single shared liquor license with shared entrances, hallways, restrooms, and operational control. Any violation anywhere in the building counted against the same license. When that license fell, it took everything with it.
The event that accelerated the building's collapse beyond repair came on August 3, 2025. Navy veteran Antwan Eugene Blu, 46, was shot and killed inside Theatre Box. Police received multiple 911 calls around 5:30 pm and found Blu mortally wounded in a third-floor hallway. His alleged killer, Bryan Tyner, 37, was arrested outside the building by bystanders who detained him and pointed officers to a handgun. Tyner was charged with murder, has pleaded not guilty, and remains jailed without bail.
Two months later, in October 2025, California ABC and the prior license holder reached a settlement formally revoking the Theatre Box umbrella liquor license. A 180-day stay was granted to allow the licensee to sell the license and preserve some of its monetary value, but alcohol service was barred immediately. ABC cited four major violations spanning April 2024 through September 2025: failure to correct nuisance conditions after warnings; maintaining a "disorderly house" under California law; generating repeated law enforcement problems; and allowing unlicensed or unauthorized individuals to operate the business. ABC confirmed to SanDiegoVille that the August fatal shooting "would have fallen under" two of those counts, even though it was not explicitly named in the formal accusation.
With alcohol service barred across the entire building as of November 12, 2025, the remaining tenants effectively ceased operations. Mr. Tempo Cantina closed permanently in December 2025. The building's landlord entity, 701 Fifth Ave. Properties LLC, had filed an eviction lawsuit against Cueva and Tempo Universe LLC in September 2025; that case was dismissed November 19, 2025. Cueva then went on offense, filing a sweeping fraud lawsuit against the ownership web in December 2025. A second legal action in January 2026, styled as a forcible detainer case, suggests the fight over who controls access to the physical premises is still unresolved.
Despite being marketed as four distinct venues, Mr. Tempo Cantina, Cielo Rooftop Lounge, Cowboy Cantina, and The Roxbury were not legally separate businesses. ABC records confirm they all operated under a single shared liquor license with shared entrances, hallways, restrooms, and operational control. Any violation anywhere in the building counted against the same license. When that license fell, it took everything with it.
The event that accelerated the building's collapse beyond repair came on August 3, 2025. Navy veteran Antwan Eugene Blu, 46, was shot and killed inside Theatre Box. Police received multiple 911 calls around 5:30 pm and found Blu mortally wounded in a third-floor hallway. His alleged killer, Bryan Tyner, 37, was arrested outside the building by bystanders who detained him and pointed officers to a handgun. Tyner was charged with murder, has pleaded not guilty, and remains jailed without bail.
Two months later, in October 2025, California ABC and the prior license holder reached a settlement formally revoking the Theatre Box umbrella liquor license. A 180-day stay was granted to allow the licensee to sell the license and preserve some of its monetary value, but alcohol service was barred immediately. ABC cited four major violations spanning April 2024 through September 2025: failure to correct nuisance conditions after warnings; maintaining a "disorderly house" under California law; generating repeated law enforcement problems; and allowing unlicensed or unauthorized individuals to operate the business. ABC confirmed to SanDiegoVille that the August fatal shooting "would have fallen under" two of those counts, even though it was not explicitly named in the formal accusation.
With alcohol service barred across the entire building as of November 12, 2025, the remaining tenants effectively ceased operations. Mr. Tempo Cantina closed permanently in December 2025. The building's landlord entity, 701 Fifth Ave. Properties LLC, had filed an eviction lawsuit against Cueva and Tempo Universe LLC in September 2025; that case was dismissed November 19, 2025. Cueva then went on offense, filing a sweeping fraud lawsuit against the ownership web in December 2025. A second legal action in January 2026, styled as a forcible detainer case, suggests the fight over who controls access to the physical premises is still unresolved.
The Men Now Holding The Keys
Elie Samaha is not a stranger to big promises and turbulent outcomes. A longtime Hollywood producer and dealmaker, Samaha has been involved in films including The Boondock Saints, Battlefield Earth, The Whole Nine Yards, and Get Carter, produced through his company Franchise Pictures. His name became attached to one of the film industry's more notable legal sagas in the early 2000s when German distributor Intertainment AG filed a civil suit accusing him of systematically inflating movie budgets. A jury verdict reportedly left him liable for tens of millions of dollars, though the case later settled for a fraction of that sum. Samaha has disputed key characterizations of the litigation and its aftermath.
More recently, Samaha has repositioned himself as a major real estate and entertainment venue operator. His companies control both the TCL Chinese Theatre, the Hollywood landmark formerly known as Grauman's, and the Dolby Theatre, the permanent home of the Academy Awards ceremony. In Los Angeles, those credentials generate a certain gravitational pull. In San Diego, they have generated something considerably more complicated, and throughout the Theatre Box saga Samaha has largely remained invisible behind corporate structures.
Public records from the San Diego County Assessor list the building's owner as 701 Fifth Ave. Properties LLC, a Wyoming-formed company whose California Secretary of State registration lists its principal address as 6925 Hollywood Boulevard, the address of the TCL Chinese Theatre. The California file lacked a Statement of Information that should have been filed in October 2023, meaning key officers were not publicly on record there. Wyoming corporate records showed the entity was administratively dissolved in its home state over an unlisted tax issue, yet it continued to appear as the owner of a major San Diego property and to file lawsuits in San Diego courts.
When SanDiegoVille first inquired about Theatre Box conditions in fall 2025, Samaha did not respond directly. Instead, a reply arrived from Peter Hoffman of 7artsent.com, a man identified on the State Bar of California's website as a disbarred attorney. Hoffman wrote that Samaha had asked him to respond and that the companies had "no comment" other than to confirm investor contributions to the Cowboy Cantina parent company had been made.
For this story, SanDiegoVille sent Samaha a detailed list of questions directly, explicitly requesting that any response come from him, from licensed legal counsel, or from an authorized public relations representative. This time, Samaha responded personally and substantively. On the dissolved entity, he wrote it was "dissolved briefly due to an oversight by our corporate department in paying a small annual renewal fee, long since corrected," and that the company "is now in good standing." The reinstatement of the LLC occured on December 17, 2025, according to the Wyoming Secretary of State website.
Samaha also clarified that 701 Fifth Ave. Properties LLC ("Properties") acquired the building from developer OliverMcMillan in August 2023, and that the transferor of the liquor license is "701 Fifth Ave. LLC, the former master tenant under the Oliver MacMillan master lease." He said he is the managing member of the receiving entity, and that Braidi "has no formal position with Properties but is involved in all aspects of the management of the property."
A 2019 Los Angeles City Attorney's criminal complaint adds further context to the Samaha profile. That complaint named the operators of Project Los Angeles, L'Scorpion, and the now-closed Rusty Mullet, venues connected in the filing to entities involving Samaha, alleging unsafe security practices, operating without proper permits, and excessive noise. On this, Samaha pushed back hard. "I personally was not involved in the businesses which were the subject of the criminal complaint in 2019," he wrote. "This complaint was handled by others and resolved without trial or extended proceedings. There is no 'pattern of regulatory complaints' that are associated with my former businesses in the Hollywood area, some of the most successful night life venues of the last 30 years. Any statement of some 'pattern of regulatory complaints' against my businesses is false and defamatory."
If Samaha is the dealmaker, Freddy Braidi is positioned as the hospitality visionary of the partnership. Braidi is the founder and CEO of Boulevard Hospitality Group, a Los Angeles-based company that oversees Yamashiro Hollywood, a Historic Resource-listed venue in the Hollywood Hills with over a century of history; Kodō Hotel and Restaurant, a boutique property carved from a 1920s Arts District fire station; Rokusho LA on the Sunset Strip; and Yamashiro Miami atop the Gale Miami Hotel and Residences. A January 2026 profile in Galore Mag frames Braidi's philosophy in language that reads almost as a direct pitch for what Theatre Box would need: "Early on, I realized we weren't just opening restaurants, we were reviving places people already had an emotional connection to." The profile describes BHG's approach as combining sound, lighting, service, cuisine, and architectural design into immersive experiences.
That branding lands differently when the address being considered is 701 Fifth Avenue, a Gaslamp Quarter building whose most recent public impressions include a fatal shooting, repeated health closures, a revoked liquor license, and a stack of lawsuits deep enough to fill a law library shelf.
Braidi's name had been attached to the Theatre Box ownership ecosystem well before the new license transfer. Most visibly, he is a defendant in the December 2025 fraud lawsuit filed by Jorge Cueva, alongside Samaha, Sherwin Jarol, 701 Fifth Ave. Properties LLC, and Tempo 5th Ave LLC. The prior Mr. Tempo license also listed a Carol Braidi as an officer. According to the Cueva lawsuit, Carol is Freddy's mother, a connection that observers of the property's ownership structure have noted as significant. Now Freddy Braidi's name appears directly on the new liquor license application as a member of 701 Fifth Avenue, LLC.
The License: A Compromised Asset, And What Samaha Says About It
The liquor license at the center of this transfer is not a clean asset walking into a routine business transaction. It is, by ABC's own account, a formally revoked license being temporarily preserved for sale, with a 180-day stay window that has been running since October 2025.
Samaha contests the framing of the ABC violations significantly. On the unlicensed operator allegation, he says it was a structural licensing dispute, not illegal activity. "Our counsel had approved the control of the licenses by the property owner in 2016 when we first acquired a lease on the premises, but ABC policy has since changed and now requires that the licenses be issued to the business which purchases alcohol and reports the sales taxes due," he wrote. "There was never any occasion in which 'unlicensed' persons purchased or sold alcoholic beverages, only a commercial dispute as to whether the vendors could operate under the existing license with a management agreement as they had since 2016. This issue is now resolved." He added: "Properties settled all ABC claims on acceptable terms and will be granted a new license with the vendors of alcoholic beverage in due course."
ABC's own account, as previously shared with SanDiegoVille, is more expansive. The agency confirmed the August 2025 fatal shooting "would have fallen under" two of the cited violations, even though it was not explicitly named in the formal accusation. State regulators, in other words, believe the conditions that produced a killing were the same conditions that justified stripping the building of its right to serve alcohol. On the health closures, Samaha said warnings were issued due to construction activities and that leases placed remediation responsibility on tenants. San Diego County health records document closures in February, September, October, and November of 2025. The February 21, 2025, ordered closure of Mr. Tempo Cantina was cited for reasons of Food Contact Surfaces - Minor; Vermin - Major; and Floors, Walls, and Ceilings - Out of Compliance.
The Plans: What Samaha Says Is Coming
For the first time, Samaha has publicly detailed plans for 701 Fifth Avenue's next iteration. According to his email, the expected tenants include Laya, a Lebanese full-service restaurant affiliated with an existing Los Angeles concept; Sugar Factory San Diego, a return of the chain that previously occupied the building before shuttering in late 2022/early 2023; The LKSD, a full-service steakhouse currently operating in Downey, California; Tequila del Cielo, the operator of Cielo Rooftop Lounge, planned to return to the rooftop; and Heaven on Sunset, a full-service spa with an existing West Hollywood location. Samaha was careful to caveat the list: "These plans are works in progress and may change as we finalize leases and operating plans." He did not address the fate of the building's eight movie theaters.
Two of those announced tenants deserve particular scrutiny. Sugar Factory previously operated inside Theatre Box, making its revival an interesting choice. And the planned return of Tequila del Cielo to the rooftop is remarkable given that the wrongful death lawsuit filed by Navy veteran Antwan Blu's family specifically names that entity among those allegedly responsible for security failures that contributed to his death. None of that litigation has been resolved.
The Lawsuits That Frame Everything
No account of the Theatre Box transfer is complete without mapping the litigation landscape, because it is the frame through which every future move at this address will be read.
The most recent case is Cueva v. 701 Fifth Ave. Properties LLC, filed December 17, 2025. Cueva filed the fraud-heavy complaint against the building's ownership web, including Samaha and Braidi by name, after his eviction fight turned into open war. The complaint alleges fraud, negligent misrepresentation, conversion, breach of fiduciary duty, constructive fraud, unjust enrichment, civil extortion, and other claims.
Samaha wrote: "We deny all those allegations. We expect a settlement with Mr. Cueva on favorable terms in the near future." The case management conference is set for July 2, 2026. On unpaid rent, Samaha confirmed the amounts in dispute were substantial. "The disputes between Tempo Universe and Properties included claims of unpaid rent of greater sums than $1,000,000," he wrote. "As you know, Tempo Cantina has quit the premises and will not be returning. We expect Tempo Universe will file for bankruptcy protection and will dispose of most of its operations. The rent disputes will be settled in those proceedings."
The wrongful death lawsuit, Blu v. Tequila Del Cielo LLC et al., filed September 29, 2025, names 701 Fifth Ave. Properties LLC among defendants and alleges that Antwan Blu's death was the foreseeable result of systemic security failures, including no metal detectors, inadequate staffing, and unmonitored entrances in a building with a documented history of fights and disturbances. The case management conference is set for March 13, 2026.
The wrongful death lawsuit, Blu v. Tequila Del Cielo LLC et al., filed September 29, 2025, names 701 Fifth Ave. Properties LLC among defendants and alleges that Antwan Blu's death was the foreseeable result of systemic security failures, including no metal detectors, inadequate staffing, and unmonitored entrances in a building with a documented history of fights and disturbances. The case management conference is set for March 13, 2026.
Samaha wrote: "This matter is in litigation handled by our insurance carriers. We have denied liability for this incident. No further comment is appropriate." On Blu's death specifically, he added: "The death of Mr. Blu is tragic but occurred outside the premises and had nothing to do with Tequila del Cielo's operations." The wrongful death lawsuit alleges otherwise, contending that security failures across the building's shared common areas, hallways, and stairwells created the environment in which the killing became possible. A jury will ultimately resolve that dispute.
A separate premises liability suit, Valenzuela v. Tempo 5th Ave LLC et al., filed October 10, 2025, also names Theatre Box-connected defendants and remains pending. A January 2026 forcible detainer case pits Tempo Universe LLC against 701 Fifth Ave Properties LLC, suggesting the dispute over who has the right to occupy or access parts of the building has not been fully resolved even after Mr. Tempo's departure. The earlier commercial unlawful detainer eviction case filed by 701 Fifth Ave. Properties LLC against Tempo Universe LLC in September 2025 was dismissed November 19, 2025, but dismissal reads less like resolution and more like the prelude to a different kind of attack. The subsequent fraud and forcible detainer filings strongly suggest the fight simply moved to new terrain.
A separate premises liability suit, Valenzuela v. Tempo 5th Ave LLC et al., filed October 10, 2025, also names Theatre Box-connected defendants and remains pending. A January 2026 forcible detainer case pits Tempo Universe LLC against 701 Fifth Ave Properties LLC, suggesting the dispute over who has the right to occupy or access parts of the building has not been fully resolved even after Mr. Tempo's departure. The earlier commercial unlawful detainer eviction case filed by 701 Fifth Ave. Properties LLC against Tempo Universe LLC in September 2025 was dismissed November 19, 2025, but dismissal reads less like resolution and more like the prelude to a different kind of attack. The subsequent fraud and forcible detainer filings strongly suggest the fight simply moved to new terrain.
The Collapse Beyond Theatre Box: King & Queen Cantina Falls Too
The fallout from Theatre Box's implosion has not been contained to the Gaslamp. It has consumed the entirety of Jorge "Mr. Tempo" Cueva's San Diego restaurant footprint.
King & Queen Cantina, Cueva's Mexican bar and restaurant at 1490 Kettner Boulevard in Little Italy, closed permanently in mid-February 2026. A handwritten sign on the front door reads: "King & Queen Cantina Permanently Closed - Thank You!" Directly above it, a California ABC Notice of Suspension confirms the restaurant's liquor license was formally suspended as of February 19, 2026, with the suspension running through March 20, 2026. For a nightlife-heavy operation whose business model depended on bar revenue, the loss of alcohol service appears to have been the final blow.
This was not King & Queen's first regulatory collision. In November 2023, ABC issued a 25-day suspension of the restaurant's liquor license following multiple excessive noise complaints from neighbors, the second disciplinary action for the same issue. At the time, the restaurant framed its temporary closure on social media as "remodeling," though official ABC notices confirmed the enforcement action. With both King & Queen and Mr. Tempo now permanently dark, Jorge Cueva's entire San Diego footprint has been wiped out. Rumors persist that Mr. Tempo is scouting new locations, with the former Hooters space on Market Street most recently reported as a possibility. Nothing has been confirmed.
The Human Cost That Sits Behind The Paperwork
The liquor license filings, LLC registrations, and court dockets can make this story feel abstract. It is not.
On August 3, 2025, Antwan Eugene Blu, a Navy veteran, a respiratory therapist for the Department of Veterans Affairs, a man who co-owned a car detailing business and had planned to have dinner with his wife that evening, was shot and killed inside Theatre Box. He was 46 years old. His daughter, Symphani Reign Blu, is now the plaintiff in a wrongful death lawsuit against the very ownership entities that are, as of this week, moving to take formal control of the building's liquor license and announcing plans to bring back Tequila del Cielo, the rooftop operator named in her lawsuit, as a future tenant.
His alleged killer, Bryan Tyner, 37, was arrested outside the building by bystanders who detained him and pointed officers to a handgun. Tyner has been charged with murder, has pleaded not guilty, and remains jailed without bail. A judge has set a preliminary hearing for March 11, 2026.
Former Roxbury employees who reported going weeks without pay are believed to be navigating their own claims. Health inspectors who repeatedly closed the building for vermin infestations documented conditions that real patrons and real staff were experiencing in real time. And Samaha himself has now predicted that Tempo Universe LLC will file for bankruptcy, with unpaid rent exceeding $1 million to be resolved in those proceedings.
Samaha's Ask, And What The Record Shows
Samaha closed his email response with a direct appeal: "We hope you will see the positive aspects for the Gaslamp District of Properties' substantial investment and write your article with those positive aspects in the forefront of your discussion."
It is a reasonable ask from a property owner who says his investors have poured resources into this building for a decade. And the plans he described, a Top Chef-led Lebanese restaurant, a steakhouse, a spa, a returning Sugar Factory, and a restored rooftop operation, represent exactly the kind of multi-concept entertainment destination the Gaslamp has been missing since Theatre Box began its decline.
But the record at 701 Fifth Avenue does not allow the positive aspects to sit in the forefront unchallenged. This is a building where a man was shot and killed in a hallway. Where health inspectors closed the premises multiple times in a single year. Where more than 130 fire and rescue calls were logged in under six years. Where multiple businesses collapsed, reportedly leaving workers unpaid and vendors uncompensated. Where a single revoked liquor license took down every bar in the building simultaneously. Where the anchor tenant is now predicted by his former business partner to file for bankruptcy, with unpaid rent exceeding $1 million.
Samaha's explanations for many of these facts are substantive. The ABC licensing dispute, as he describes it, was a structural disagreement about who could hold a license, not a case of illegal alcohol sales. The dissolved LLC was an oversight, now corrected. The health citations were a joint responsibility devolved to tenants. The Roxbury wage claims, he says, are settled. The Cueva lawsuit, he says, will settle on favorable terms.
Those may all prove to be accurate characterizations. But they are also the characterizations of the man who has had ownership interests in this building throughout every one of the events described above, and who is now seeking ABC approval to resume alcohol service at the same address, with at least one of the same operators, under new license numbers.
If the transfer is approved, Samaha and Braidi become the formal liquor license holders for 701 Fifth Avenue, legally responsible for the conditions under which alcohol is served throughout whatever concept or concepts eventually open. Any reopening will occur under the microscope of ABC, San Diego Police, city and county health authorities, and the attorneys litigating active cases against the ownership.
If the transfer stalls, expires, or is denied, the revocation becomes final and the building would need to apply for a new license, a process that can take months and is vulnerable to objection from neighbors, law enforcement, and community groups who have endured years of nuisance at this address.
Either way, 701 Fifth Avenue remains one of downtown San Diego's strangest modern real-estate stories: a former movie palace turned celebrity entertainment experiment turned nightlife maze turned legal quagmire, now inching toward its next chapter through the quiet but telling language of liquor licensing.
Whether that next chapter reads differently than all the ones before it is the question Elie Samaha is asking San Diego to let him answer.
SanDiegoVille will continue monitoring ABC transfer proceedings, San Diego Superior Court filings, and any announcements related to 701 Fifth Avenue. Elie Samaha responded to SanDiegoVille's questions by email; his responses are quoted and incorporated throughout this article. Freddy Braidi was not separately contacted for comment prior to publication. All legal allegations are unproven and contested unless otherwise noted. The criminal case against Bryan Tyner remains ongoing. Mr. Tempo Cantina formerly operated at 701 Fifth Avenue in San Diego's Gaslamp Quarter. King & Queen Cantina was located at 1490 Kettner Boulevard in San Diego's Little Italy.
Originally published February 21, 2026.
