Paving Over East Bay Sports Bar With Porsche Dealership

WALNUT CREEK, CA — The city council has approved a Porsche dealership proposal for a busy Walnut Creek corridor long occupied by a popular local sports bar.

The Walnut Creek City Council advanced the North Main Street and Second Avenue project, letting developers proceed with plans for a three-level dealership that officials say will replace an underused site and keep a major luxury auto brand in the city.

The site to be demolished includes Masses Sports Bar & Grill, which closed Feb. 8 after three decades to make way for development.

The The 2.4 acre-site would turn 2717 N. Main St., 1530 Second Ave., and 1510 Second Ave. into a full-service Porsche sales and service center.

The new complex would include space for about 123 vehicles inside the structure and another 48 spaces outside for customers, employees, and display vehicles.

Steven Scanlan, representing the applicant Fletcher Jones, said the project would modernize the dealership and keep the brand in Walnut Creek.

Fletcher Jones Imports, a Las Vegas-based dealer, owns the property through an affiliate, which bought the site for $14 million in June 2024, according to reports.

Noise, lights, trees

The redevelopment would adds new sidewalks and street updates, but remove almost two dozen trees. And, because the site buts up against an area with single-family homes, neighbors said they worried about noise, light, and traffic.

A Quiet View Court resident, writing to Design Review commissioners in October 2025, said, "While I understand the potential economic benefits of such a development, I urge the Council to consider the serious impacts this project may have on our residential community— particularly on Second Avenue, a narrow side street not designed for commercial traffic."

A Sheldon Court neighbor said Second Avenue is extremely narrow, has a 25 m.p.h. speed limit, and is shared by children and vehicles with almost no usable sidewalks.

Neither opposed the dealership but requested actions to address their concerns, such as restricting right turns onto Second Avenue to reduce vehicles entering the nearby residential area.

Plans included several measures designed to reduce impacts on neighbors, such as an eight-foot sound wall along the west side of the property, thicker building walls around the service shop, and service doors designed to remain closed for most of the day. Scanlan said in October that most of the dealership's operations would be inside the building, rather than spread across outdoor lots.

The sound wall would likely be installed early in construction to protect nearby residents.Directional signs and traffic routing will discourage turns. Employees and test-drive traffic will use other routes. Car deliveries will happen on the building's north side. Test drives can be limited to North Main Street.

City Council members questioned the decision to save trees, the placement of sound walls, and construction phasing.

The developer must plant 21 new trees for those removed and pay $17,470 for the removal of three "highly protected" oak trees.

The March 3 decision allows the developer to move forward with final permits and construction plans, subject to the conditions approved by the council.

The dealership plans to keep the current site open by leasing it until the new facility is finished.

Eric Paden, son of the original owners of Masses Bar & Grill, said during the October meeting that he supported the project, but was seeking a new Walnut Creek site for the bar. The website and social media still list the last day for the 31-year-old bar as Super Bowl Sunday — and "new location to be announced soon!"

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