Eric Richardson

DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES — Downtown’s nightlife renaissance is about to jump the 110 freeway.

The Monty Cafe at 1222 W. 7th may not look like much, but the closed watering hole has a very different life in front of it.

The venue’s alcohol license , a company that has an officer list that reads like a who’s who of Downtown nightlife.

Among the names is Rio Hackford, an actor and bar owner who is currently at work on the bar planned for the basement of the El Dorado Hotel.

He says that the group is currently finalizing the lease documents, but plans to start construction by the beginning of November. While he’s not sure exactly what name they’ll give the new bar, Hackford says that plans are for a “macho, no bullshit” bar with pool tables and beers on tap.

Given the existing licenses, the new bar could be open as soon as the first quarter of 2011.

Participating with Hackford in the project are Raub Shapiro, Joe Baxley, Dave Neupert and Cedd Moses.

Shapiro is also involved in the El Dorado project and co-owns Homestead Bar in San Francisco with Hackford.

Baxley is a New York club owner who partnered with Moses — the man behind so many of Downtown’s most popular watering holes — on Broadway Bar in 2005.

Neupert was a partner in the purchase of La Cita in 2006, has been behind local bars like Short Stop and Footsie’s and has more recently dabbled in hotels with Silver Lake’s El Tres Inn.

So is the west side of the 110 ready for new nightlife? While only time will tell, those in the Downtown bar scene seem convinced that the area remains ripe for new venues. At the Central City Association’s Downtown 2020 symposium last week, Edison owner Andrew Meieran told the audience that he believes it’s the more, the merrier.

“We’re still so under-served for the community that it’s actually kind of staggering for me,” he said.