'It's A Way For People To Heal': Borderline Owners Open New Space In Agoura Hills

AGOURA HILLS (CBSLA) — It's been 14 months since a Marine veteran opened fire at Borderline Bar and Grill killing 12 people, including a sergeant with the Ventura County Sheriff's Department.

And on Friday night, the owners of the Thousand Oaks bar embraced a new beginning — not only for them, but for their patrons as well.

"The pride that we feel from being able to build a dance floor for these people, and then to allow them to have what they have," Brian Hynes, one of the owners, said. "We're lucky."

The BL Dancehall and Saloon in Agoura Hills officially opened the dance floor Friday night, with a number of former regulars coming out for the occasion.

"This is family," Sue Deschryver, a patron, said. "We've been dancing here since 1992."

The new spot may be miles from the original Borderline, but inside the owners brought as much of Borderline with them as they could. An American flag that hung inside the original place is hung proudly on the wall. The pool table, neon and bar stools came, too. At the main bar are 12 of those stools, one for each victim of the shooting.

"As much as we could bring over from the other place to make it feel like home," Troy Hale, one of the owners, said. "We brought it over to decorate it and bring back all those good memories."

This past November, Borderline held an emotional memorial outside the original club in Thousand Oaks with hundreds attending to honor the victims.

And though the Agoura Hills location is only temporary, the owners said they wanted the Borderline family to feel at home.

"I think it's a big sense of relief for us to come back and get everybody back here," Hale said. "And, finally, it's a way for people to heal. This is one of the best ways for a lot of people."

The owners said they still plan to reopen the original bar, but said it could take a few years.