What does El Paseo sound like at 8:45 on a Friday night, compared with 9:15? Under a permit Palm Desert approved in May, before 9 p.m., the new bar at 73-730 El Paseo may not play low-frequency amplified music at all. After that the bass can come up, but with doors and windows shut, two licensed guards on duty and a closing time the city wrote down.
That bar is Rock'N Avenue. It opened this fall, at the start of the season, and its permit treats one evening on El Paseo as a series of shifts. Read in order, the conditions tell you how the city expects the street to work after dark this winter, and when it will check.
How a rock bar got to El Paseo
The proposal came up in early 2026, and the argument was about the street's identity more than the bar itself. In March, NBC Palm Springs described a plan for a bar playing '70s, '80s and '90s rock until 2 a.m. on a street better known for boutiques, sunrise dog walks and quiet dinners. Owner Patrick Masur told the station he planned a strict dress code and suited security staff, and that he wanted the bar to be a place where locals could go after sundown. A neighboring restaurant owner told the station she was concerned about how late-night activity would fit El Paseo's image, though she said she was willing to see how it went.
The Planning Commission continued the hearing on March 17 and approved Conditional Use Permit CUP-25-5003 on May 5, 2026. The Desert Sun reported that the vote came after pushback from nearby business owners and area residents. By late October the bar was open, and Masur was marking the opening in videos on social media. One line he used, as the Desert Sun's restaurant roundup quoted it:
"We woke up this side of El Paseo."
The Palm Desert Area Chamber of Commerce held a grand opening and ribbon cutting at 73730 El Paseo on October 30. Its listing says the bar plans Classic Rock, Country and Latin music nights through the week. Inside, the Desert Sun described a sleek lounge with a VIP room and walls of flat-screens showing football on weekends and music videos the rest of the time.
The night, as Resolution 2917 sets it
The city approved the bar, and it also wrote out how the bar's night runs, hour by hour. Here are the conditions in Planning Commission Resolution No. 2917, in clock order:
- 2 p.m. The bar may open. Its permitted window runs from 2 p.m. to 2 a.m., and outside those hours the space is limited to cleanup, maintenance and deliveries.
- 8 p.m. At least two licensed security guards meeting California Bureau of Security and Investigative Services requirements must be on duty, and they stay until 2:30 a.m. They cannot double as bartenders. The applicant's statement of use also lists a dress code from 8 p.m. on, ID checks at both entrances and no dedicated dance floor.
- 9 p.m. Low-frequency amplified music becomes allowed. Before this hour it is prohibited. Whenever amplified music is playing, exterior doors and windows have to stay closed except for people coming in and going out.
- 1:45 a.m. Groups may no longer gather outside the front or rear entrance.
- 2 a.m. The permitted window closes.
Several other conditions apply all night. Smokers go to a designated area in Presidents Plaza at least 70 feet from any building, where the bar puts out a portable receptacle and takes it back inside at closing. The bar must keep the sidewalks, landscaping and parking within 100 feet of its main entrance clean and free of litter, before, during and after business hours. Alcohol is limited to the approved interior under an on-site bar license, with no take-out sales. A live DJ or any live entertainment needs its own approved Entertainment Site Plan.
The 9 p.m. line is what links the bar to the rest of the street. Dinner hours on El Paseo stay free of bass by rule. The bar's louder shift starts as most of the street's kitchens are closing.
Who else is still open when the bass starts
A look at closing times along El Paseo puts that 9 p.m. line in context.
- Yozu Asian Bistro, 73-061 El Paseo at The Shops on El Paseo, lists hours of 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. It took over the former Shorebird space and serves a menu drawing on Japan, Korea, China and Southeast Asia.
- Sullivan's Steakhouse, 73505 El Paseo, Suite 2600, lists a 10 p.m. close Sunday through Thursday and 11 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.
- Kitchen 86, 73-130 El Paseo, Suite I, lists an 11 p.m. close Sunday through Thursday and midnight on Friday and Saturday.
So at the hour the permit allows the bass, the street's newest restaurant is closing, its steakhouse has an hour or two left, and Kitchen 86 goes until 11 or midnight. Rock'N Avenue can run two hours past the latest of those under its permit.
J's Deli tells the same story about El Paseo's evening from the other direction. After the original J's closed in the historic One El Paseo building in June 2025, owners Jay and Vanessa Rubenstein reopened about 16 months later in the former Sweet Basil California Eatery space at 73-655 El Paseo, a little under three-quarters of a mile west of where they started. The menu is about 60% smaller and the room has roughly a third as many seats as the original. Rubenstein told the Desert Sun the goal was faster, more immediate service with everything still made to order. Matzo ball soup and the Reubinski, which combines pastrami and corned beef, are still on the menu. The long bar and big dining room are gone, but the vintage photographs, black-and-white chairs and a smaller dessert case came along. The deli came back smaller and faster, and the street's new late-night bar came with a written schedule.
The holiday calendar falls before the bass
The busiest dates on El Paseo through early December are daytime and early-evening events, well before the 9 p.m. line.
| Date | Event | Where | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nov. 21 | Light Up The Holidays, a free tree lighting with Santa and Mrs. Claus, children's activities and letters to Santa | The Shops on El Paseo | 4 to 6 p.m. |
| Nov. 26 | Martha's Village & Kitchen's 20th Thanksgiving Day 5K | The Gardens on El Paseo, 73545 El Paseo | 8 a.m. to noon |
| Nov. 27 and 28 | Pre-holiday trunk show and purse signing with artist Julie Feldman | A Gallery Fine Art | 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. |
| Dec. 5 | Santa Magic | The Gardens on El Paseo | No listed time |
| Dec. 6 and 13 | Rare Market | The Gardens on El Paseo | No listed time |
The Shops on El Paseo asks guests to RSVP for the November 21 tree lighting. The tree lighting ends at 6 p.m., three hours before the bar's bass can start. On El Paseo, the holiday season and the late-night experiment run on different parts of the clock.
When the city checks the clock
The schedule comes with a review calendar. Rock'N Avenue has to report back to the Planning Commission on its compliance after six, 12 and 24 months of operation. After that, further reports are up to the commission. The bar opened in October, so the first report should come around spring 2027. That covers the whole high season, from tree lighting to the close of the March event calendar.
The noise rules include their own trigger as well. If Code Compliance or law enforcement documents three or more noise-ordinance violations within any 12-month period, the city's Director of Development Services can require more noise mitigation or open a review of the permit, which could lead to changes or revocation. Before opening, the bar had to run a sound test with a licensed acoustic engineer while Planning staff were present. Any event outside the regular bar use needs a Temporary Use Permit application at least 30 days ahead.
The six-month report will cover the first season of shifts on El Paseo, held up against the hours the city wrote down in May.
At Sabatella Delair Group, we keep track of the small decisions that change how a street feels from one hour to the next, from a 9 p.m. music rule to a deli reopening at a third of its old size. If you'd like to talk about how El Paseo's evenings fit into your own plans in Palm Desert, we'd be glad to help. Work With Us.
