The bar where the Terminator confronts Sarah Connor in The Terminator is called Tech Noir. Sarah enters the nightclub after realizing that Kyle Reese may be following her, hoping to contact her roommate and find help.
The scene becomes the film’s first major confrontation between Sarah, Reese, and the T-800. After locating Sarah, the Terminator storms into the club and opens fire, but Reese uses a shotgun to drive it back and rescue her.
The name Tech Noir reflects the film’s blend of science fiction and film-noir atmosphere: neon lighting, shadows, urban danger, and an apparently unstoppable pursuer. James Cameron used the phrase to describe the movie’s stylistic identity as it developed.
Tech Noir was a fictional nightclub created for the production. The exterior was filmed at a location on South Hill Street in downtown Los Angeles, and the set was convincing enough that some passersby reportedly mistook it for a real club. The screenplay had earlier called the location Stoker’s.