Sardo's Set to Close; Last Porn Star Karaoke on July 25

BURBANK, Calif.—Sardo's Grill & Lounge, the Tuesday-night home of industry get-together Porn Star Karaoke since 2003, is closing July 28, according to a Facebook post by owner Seymour Satin. In the post, Satin said, "It is with great regret that I need to close Sardo’s. The reason you ask, financially I cannot go on. Costs are up and business is down. My rent was raised on January 1st and I am paying $10,000 per month plus the cost of labor, product, insurance and as I stated business has been down for a while..I have tried to sell Sardo’s but with the rent so high, no buyers are interested." The complete post is on the Sardo's Bar Facebook page. Satin got involved with the long-running watering hole in January 2003, about six months before three personalities from the now-defunct Internet radio station KSEX came in and started what became Porn Star Karaoke. In the summer of 2003 the line for admission wrapped around the building and civilians were denied admittance. PSK—as it came to be known—was reported in adult and mainstream magazines worldwide and was visited by mainstream celebrities including James Gandolfini, Jeff Conaway, John Goodman, Joey Fatone, Tommy Lee, Hal Sparks, Jennifer Love Hewitt and Richard Dreyfuss as well as the performers, writers, directors and journalists of the adult industry. Satin was protective of the "Porn Star Karaoke" brand, and described himself in a 2015 interview by saying, "I don't watch porn, but I'm a fan of the industry and I am a friend of the industry. I got to know the people in the industry on a personal level, which I think is a lot better. A lot of people would come in for the first time and I wouldn't know who they were. When Ginger Lynn came in for the first time I didn't know who she was. We've become good friends." Satin and Sardo's were inducted into the XRCO Hall of Fame as "Friends of the Industry" in 2015. Sardo's Grill & Lounge is located at 259 N. Pass Avenue in Burbank. The last Porn Star Karaoke will be Tuesday, July 25, starting at 9 p.m. Will longtime host Nicki Hunter be there? She will ... according to an apropos tweet yesterday. It will also be a chance to give thanks to Satin and mark the end of an era. "I truly appreciate everyone that has come to Sardo’s over the years and I am extremely proud of what I’ve seen over the past 14.5 years," he wrote on Facebook. "People getting married, the close friendships I’ve seen grown and they all met at Sardo’s and seeing the staff (past and present) grow up to have families."   Pictured above: Seymour Satin with adult performer/agent Tee Reel; shot by Chris King during Siouxsie Q's recent birthday party at Sardo's. See more photos here.