Greenhouse (again), Juliet, Le Souk, and Vanderbilt

The New York Nights Club Report for October 28, 2009

Compliled by Gamal Hennessy

Events
Halloween Weekend Parties
(Joonbug)
A list of events for the weekend if you’re all dressed up with nowhere to go.

Opening

Juliet Supper club
(Thrillist)

The former Prime space reopens in West Chelsea as a gastroclub

The Vanderbilt
(Martini Boys)

A high end venue opens in Park Slope

Closed
Le Souk

(Eater)
The community board has successfully shut a successful hookah lounge

Controversy
Greenhouse

(Gothamist)

In the wake of their racial bias suit, the Tribeca lounge might have been the scene of a stabbing

Greenhouse, La Villa Rouge and Q

The New York Nights Club Report for October 22, 2009
Compiled by Gamal Hennessy

Opening

La Villa Rouge
(Nelly List)
A French Moroccan lounge opens in the LES this weekend.


Downtown Galway Hooker
The midtown Irish sports bar spawns a clone in the West Village

Q
(Black Book)
A new performance space rises out of Quo in West Chelsea

Controversy

Greenhouse
(Gothamist)
A new lawsuit claims the TriBeCa lounge engaged in a racist door policy

Carnival and the Persecution of Beer Pong

The New York Nights Club Report for October 14, 2009

Complied by Gamal Hennessy

Opening
Carnival
(New York Nights)
Bowlmor Lanes spawns the newest theme bar in Union Square…

The New Bar Roundup

(Shecky’s)
It is officially too cold for Beer Gardens, so drink in these new spaces instead…

Controversy

Beer Pong Persecution
(The Gothamist)

The State Liquor Authority has recently ruled that the ancient tradition of beer pong is a violation of state liquor laws. At the same time, AM New York reports on a American College Health Association warning that beer pong and similar activities could increase the risk of swine flu. I guess it’s safer to just do shots instead…

Have fun
G

Ainsworth: The Venue with Something for Everyone?

by Gamal Hennessy

Nightlife venues used to be melting pots; microcosms of the city itself. Preppy, hipster hip hop, rocker, model, plain, professional, artsy, straight, gay all occupied different pockets of the same venue. The music would shift back and forth to cater to each crowd and mixing and mingling outside your comfort zone was as easy as crossing the room.

Niche venues and promotion companies that catered to a specific demo have largely replaced the mega venue melting pot. The multitude of choice has segregated the nightlife community into smaller tribes of like-minded patrons. This new era gives us more control over the type of night we want to have, but it doesn’t offer many opportunities to sample music and people from other walks of life unless we go to a new club.

Ainsworth might be a return to the venue that tries to be all things to all people. Billed as a gastropub (basically a pub or a sports bar that serves gourmet pub food), the 6,000 square foot Chelsea has a lot to offer. There are huge screens to watch sports. There is a pub menu that includes unique items like pineapple ribs, wild mushroom pizza, and miso duck spring rolls in addition to pub favorites like calamari and cheese fries. There is a DJ booth and a good sound system for music. There is a small place to dance. There is a space for bottle service. There is a brunch menu for the daytime crowd and there are specialty drinks for the ladies. The only thing the Ainsworth doesn’t have is an outdoor terrace. It might not do everything perfectly, but it does have the potential to do several things well.

The crowd is the most unique aspect of the space. Instead of instantly drawing in a huge sports crowd, or a big model and bottle crowd the operators are filling the room with a variety of patrons. The emo kids stood by the bar with the business suit crowd. The glamour girls hung out near the nerds. The DJ dropped a Michael Jackson tune and everyone went bananas. If you ignored the people staring down at their Crackberries, you might have mistaken the scene for the old melting pot venues of the 80s.

The novelty will eventually wear off and the free liquor will eventually stop flowing. When that happens, a specific group of patrons might eventually claim Ainsworth as its territory. You should get there before that happens. Who knows when you’ll find another venue that will let you mingle outside your comfort zone just by crossing a room.

Have fun

Gamal

Simyone Lounge, CB4, Le Souk and the New York Nightlife Hall of Fame

The New York Nights Club Report for October 1, 2009

Compiled by Gamal Hennessy

Opening
Simyone Lounge
(Urban Daddy)
An underground lounge opens on the border of Chelsea and the Meatpacking District

Community Boards
New Chair of CB4 on nightlife
(Chelsea Now)
John Weis offers up his views on the future of West Chelsea nightlife.

Le Souk
(Eater)
The successful and controversial lounge is trying to renew its liquor license.

Awards
New York Nightlife Hall of Fame
(Good Night Mr. Lewis)
Recognition is coming for the people and places that made New York nightlife legendary.

Have fun
G