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Metro's Club of the Week Temple Bar & Lounge 52 S. First St., San Jose; 408.288.8518 By Todd Inoue Hours: Daily 4pm-2am; opens July 31 Ambience: Classy joint Amenities: Small-plate appetizers, DJs and live music ITALIAN RESTAURANT Bella Mia's historic wood-paneled bar got a makeover. It is now a stand-alone space called Temple Bar & Lounge. New owner George Fan says the remodeled and renamed lounge will open July 31, providing its conditional use permit meeting goes well. Fan says the lounge will feature live jazz, Latin bands and DJ nights. He's hoping to attract a mixed crowd of 20- to 30-year-olds looking for an alternative downtown dress-up joint. He's already added plasma-screen TVs, couches and a sound system. The club will operate separately from Bella Mia. Bill Carlson, Bella Mia's manager, says Temple Bar will provide an added value to the downtown mix. "It'll improve downtown," Carlson says. "What we have downtown is entertainment, and more entertainment is better." The Temple Bar is Fan's first foray into running a nightclub (he manages an import/export business in San Jose). "I'm pretty optimistic about it," he says. We are too. Send a letter to the editor about this story to letters@metronews.com. [ Silicon Valley | Metroactive Home | Archives ]