A growing number of University Heights residents are raising concerns about recurring late-night noise and disruptive behavior they attribute to Park & Rec, the popular bar and entertainment venue at 4612 Park Boulevard, as prospective new ownership moves forward with an acquisition of the business.
The latest complaints surfaced last week in a University Heights neighborhood Facebook group, where residents described hearing booming bass music blocks away, windows rattling late into the night, intoxicated patrons allegedly urinating and vomiting on private property, and discarded alcohol containers left throughout nearby residential streets.
"I've lived in the neighborhood for years and it just doesn't seem consistent," one resident wrote. "We can manage to drown it out for the most part, but hearing the bass and lyrics with all the windows closed at 10:30 p.m. on a Sunday, being a street away can be annoying."
Several longtime neighbors said the situation has worsened since Park & Rec opened in 2015 in the former Bourbon Street space.
"I've lived a block away for 24 years," one resident commented. "The old place was loud but stopped the noise earlier than Park & Rec. I've had my windows rattling well past midnight."
Another neighbor who has lived in the area for 27 years wrote that Bourbon Street "was nothing compared to today's nonsense."
Residents also described secondary problems they say accompany the venue's busiest nights, including groups gathering around parked vehicles while blasting music, public intoxication, littering, public urination and late-night disturbances throughout the surrounding residential blocks.
One resident recounted catching a woman urinating in the walkway leading to a backyard, while others reported routinely finding empty liquor bottles and beer cans on their property.
Among the most detailed responses came from one neighborhood resident, who cited both the San Diego Municipal Code and operating conditions attached to Park & Rec's California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control license.
The resident noted that the city's noise ordinance prohibits certain amplified sound during nighttime hours and also pointed to conditions attached to Park & Rec's existing ABC license governing noise and outdoor recorded music. The commenter said he measured sound levels between 62 and 68 decibels outside nearby residences but emphasized that the specific reading was less important than the fact the music was "very loudly audible" from Adams Avenue around the corner onto surrounding residential streets and could be heard and felt inside neighboring homes with the windows closed.
He added that San Diego Police officers have recently monitored the area and reportedly issued several citations, although the nature of those citations has not been independently confirmed by SanDiegoVille.
The neighborhood complaints have since spilled beyond social media. NBC 7 interviewed several nearby residents following SanDiegoVille's initial report, with neighbors describing pounding bass, large crowds spilling onto the street, revving engines, motorcycles and other disturbances extending into the early morning hours.
"It's also been turning into a little bit more of a dangerous atmosphere," resident Devon Tolliver told NBC 7, describing occasions when hundreds of people allegedly leave the bar around the same time while motorists engage in dangerous behavior nearby. Another resident, Nikki Tolliver, said she could hear "the bass, the pounding all night long" despite living a block away.
The controversy comes as Park & Rec appears headed for a significant change behind the scenes.
When SanDiegoVille first published this story August 6, California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control records continued to identify ELE Park Blvd L-PSHIP as the licensee and did not yet show a pending transfer. That changed this week.
Newly posted ABC records show Baker's Vacation Holdings LLC filed to take over Park & Rec's existing liquor licenses, with the transfer placed into pending status on August 12. The application covers the business at both 4612 and 4620 Park Boulevard and identifies the business name as Park and Rec.
The pending transfer includes Park & Rec's Type 48 On-Sale General Public Premises license, which permits the sale of beer, wine and distilled spirits at a bar where patrons are not required to purchase food. The filing also seeks transfer of the associated Type 58 caterer's permit, Type 68 portable bar license and Type 77 event permit.
All four are being transferred from existing license number 48-554899 to pending license number 681120. ABC records also show Glen Oaks Escrow handling the transaction and a Form 220 hold dated August 12, further documenting an active transfer process. The application remains pending and therefore does not mean the transfer has yet been approved by the state.
Baker's Vacation Holdings LLC identifies Chad Michael Owen and Brett Robert Winfield as its members and managing members, revealing for the first time publicly who is behind the company seeking to acquire Park & Rec.
Owen had already disclosed his involvement directly to neighbors when he entered the Facebook discussion and identified himself as the individual currently overseeing Park & Rec while the acquisition was being pursued.
"I got sorta tossed into the bar while we're working through the acquisition process, with the intent to run it as it stood until I have full liability over the venue," Owen wrote.
"It's been interesting to say the least. In light of my experience and your comments, I am in coordination with the current owners, working to resolve a laundry list of issues inside and out of the venue, that should never have happened to begin with."
Owen apologized to neighbors, invited residents to contact him directly and said he wanted to work collaboratively with the community to address legitimate concerns.
"If anyone wants to speak with me directly, please do," he wrote. "I want to know your complaints, and I want to work with my neighbors to resolve our role in any nuisance."
Owen subsequently took a more measured approach when contacted by NBC 7 about the controversy.
"I prefer to handle this with them rather than go on the public record with promises," Owen told the television station. "I'll let my actions over the next few months and neighbors' opinions speak for themselves."
According to Owen's LinkedIn profile, he has spent years in hospitality management, previously serving as General Manager and later Southern California Director of Operations for Pouring With Heart, the hospitality company behind several Southern California bars and restaurants. He now operates hospitality consulting company MyBarManager, where he advises bar and restaurant owners on operations, profitability, business turnarounds and acquisitions.
Winfield also has longstanding roots in San Diego's bar and cocktail industry. He previously served as lead bartender at Seven Grand in North Park and as the "Spirit Guide" for its Whiskey Society. In a 2013 interview with Eater San Diego, Winfield said he had already spent 16 years in the food-and-beverage industry and a decade bartending. A Level II Certified Sommelier, he was also involved with Golden State Spirits and RX Bitters Co. alongside local hospitality figures Ryan Andrews and Eric Lockridge.
The addition of two experienced hospitality operators could mark a substantial change for Park & Rec, although exactly what Owen and Winfield intend to alter at the venue remains unclear. The pending ABC application retains the Park and Rec business name, suggesting the acquisition may represent a change of ownership and operation rather than an immediate replacement of the decade-old concept.
Some residents have cautiously welcomed Owen's willingness to engage directly with neighbors but expressed skepticism that improvements will last without formal accountability.
"We've heard this before," one resident wrote, adding that previous improvements were often temporary before conditions deteriorated again.
Park & Rec opened in May 2015 after hospitality entrepreneur Carlo "John" Pani transformed the longtime Bourbon Street property into a sprawling indoor-outdoor cocktail venue centered around games, live entertainment and craft cocktails. Over the past decade, it has become one of University Heights' best-known nightlife destinations, while neighboring properties formerly operated by the same ownership group have included Johnston's, which closed after less than a year in business in 2023.
The newly filed liquor-license transfer substantially clarifies what was uncertain when SanDiegoVille first reported on the neighborhood controversy. Owen is not simply temporarily managing the bar while discussing a hypothetical acquisition: a company controlled by Owen and Winfield is now formally seeking state approval to take over Park & Rec's alcohol licenses.
What remains to be seen is whether that ownership transition will produce the changes surrounding residents have been seeking.
SanDiegoVille has reached out to Park & Rec, Chad Owen and John Pani for additional comment regarding the neighborhood complaints, planned operational changes and acquisition. This story will continue to be updated as additional information becomes available.Park & Rec is located at 4612 Park Boulevard in San Diego's University Heights neighborhood. For more information, visit parkandrecsd.com.
Originally published on August 6, 2026. Updated August 13, 2026, following the filing of Park & Rec's liquor-license transfer application.
