For 40 years, Tivoli Terrace has served as a favorite venue for locals’ memorial services, weddings, anniversaries and community meetings. Now, many of those contented customers are showing their loyalty, signing a petition to keep the local landmark in the hands of the longtime proprietor, June Neptune.
A change.org petition went online Feb. 29 and within seven days had gathered 842 signatures. It read, “We the undersigned hereby request that the Board of Directors of the Festival of Arts reconsider and reverse their decision to not renew their lease with Tivoli Terrace.”
In an interview Wednesday, June Neptune said a decision over the lease’s renewal may be made as soon as this week. At the time, she expressed worry that new lease terms would be more restrictive than the current arrangement, which expires in September.
The restaurant located in the public park known as the Irvine Bowl subleases space from the primary leaseholder, the Festival of Arts and Pageant of the Masters, and caters to its visitors throughout the summer festival season. In the off-season, Tivoli turns into an event-driven venue.
“The city doesn’t have a role in negotiating the lease for Tivoli Terrace,” Christa Johnson, assistance city manager said.
In an interview, FOA board president Fred Sattler says that the board is involved in “on-going negotiations with June Neptune and has been for months.”
FOA board member Kathy Jones, while not involved directly in lease negotiations, said the other vendors along with Tivoli have been informed that no events will be held on the grounds from fall 2016 through spring 2017 due to planned renovations, which were postponed this year due to predictions of a wet winter.
At the request of his boss, Tivoli Terrace manager Virgilio Gentile last month made an initial effort to drum up public support by approaching Gene Felder, a board member of Laguna Canyon Conservancy. The group has held its monthly meetings at the restaurant for years. Gentile said he and Neptune were informed by the festival board that the lease would not be renewed.
The corporation which owns Tivoli Terrace also operates Tivoli Too across Laguna Canyon Road on the Art-A-Faire grounds and Hacienda in Santa Ana, also a popular wedding venue.
City Council member Toni Iseman, also a Laguna Canyon Foundation board member, was present at the January meeting when Felder announced that Tivoli’s lease would not be renewed. “If Fred says negotiations are on-going, we have to respect that,” she said. However, she added, “I hope June won’t have to leave if she doesn’t want to.”
In a letter to the Indy, Felder encourages the public to sign a petition on the restaurant’s Facebook page. His letter also chronicles June and Terry Neptune’s history of supporting local causes including the Save Laguna Art Museum dinner meetings, the Greenbelt Dilley dinners, the Laguna Animal Shelter, RUFF and the Blue Bell Foundation for Cats. Terry Neptune died in 2000. Felder’s letter states that the restaurant lease has been renewed “at least six times.”
One petition signer who wed at Tivoli, as did her parents, said she hoped her daughter would have the same option. Another signer, a self-employed DJ, worried about job losses for those who work at the venue. Others pointed out, “Tivoli Terrace is an integral part of the Festival of Arts experience.”
