New Year's Eve will be a little more muted this year in Manhattan Beach, as two large official gatherings have been canceled. The Zislis Group has canceled its "Studio 54"-themed New Year's Eve party at Shade Hotel, as well as the "FROST" DJ and dancing event at StrandBar at The Strand House, due to concerns about COVID.

Jenna Record, vice president of marketing at the Zislis Group, told DigMB: "Our highest priority is the safety of our employees and guests, and while it's disappointing to have to cancel, we feel this is the right thing to do given the circumstances."

As an alternative to the Shade Hotel party, the hotel will offer festive table service dinners. Reservations can be made by visiting shadehotel.com or calling 310-546-4995.

The FROST dinner pairing menu will still be held at The Strand House, but just not the DJ party at StrandBar. Call 310-545-7470 x1 for reservations.

The announcement comes at a time when Manhattan Beach has seen a surge in COVID cases. On Wednesday, December 22, Manhattan Beach recorded 45 new cases, one of the highest per-day increases in cases since the pandemic began.

Across L.A. County, the number of new COVID cases more than doubled between Tuesday, December 21, and Wednesday, December 22.

Michael Zislis, owner of the Zislis Group, which also owns Rock'N Fish and Brewco, told the Manhattan Beach City Council on Tuesday night that 40 out of his 1,000 employees were currently out due to COVID.