NEWMAN – The St. George Hotel, one of Newman’s downtown landmarks, has reopened under new management.

The dance club and taqueria made its debut on the Fourth of July weekend.

Business owner Susie Cortes is managing the new enterprise; her brother-in-law Hugo Cortes is also involved  and oversees the taqueria.

Cortes is the niece of Jose Ramos, who operated the St. George Restaurant in the past.

Cortes said she worked for several months to prepare the building for the grand opening.

While she has been involved behind the scenes with friends who have opened bars in San Jose, Cortes said, the St. George represents her first venture.

She said she plans to operate the St. George as a dance club catering to a variety of interests.

“We are going to try to make it multi-cultural,” Cortes explained. “We want everybody to be able to come in and enjoy it.”

Disc jockeys are currently providing the entertainment on weekends, but live bands will be brought in when the new business owners learn more about the musical tastes of their clientele.

Karaoke is planned for Thursday evenings, and the St. George will cater to the sports crowd when the football season starts.

Cortes describes the current taqueria menu as “basic but very good.”

The menu may be expanded somewhat in the future, she added.

The St. George is open daily from noon to 2 a.m.