Whether this ever becomes a reality I am ready to put out how I think NYC night life should change. Things are pretty cyclical or at least subject to change, so I believe the day is coming when these lounges and bottle service will go out of style. Now the change may not happen for a while because it is so profitable for these bar/club owners to do it that way but I think one brave person will make the change or move away from it and the others will follow. At least I hope it does. I would think even investment bankers are going to realize that they shouldn't have to spend $2,000 in order to have a night out. So here is my concept on my new place:
1) Limited seating areas. Yes there will be table service but its a limited concept and its not the primary place to be so its removed from the dance floor and far from the bar. Enough already with this concept of being elite and letting these bars charge too much money for something we really don't need.
2) The bar has sufficient space for people to hang out, which means a long bar with at least ten feet between the front end of the bar and wall parallel to it. That would allow people to hang out at the bar and to hang out across from the bar.
3) No more lines in front of the club. The concept of creating interest through lines is something that should have never caught on. I never understood what person goes by a place and sees a massive line (typically made up of dudes) and immediately says "I have to go there". I also never pulled up to a place in the last ten years, saw a massive line and then declared that it would be a good place to go. Usually when I see big lines, I know I am going to be miserable at a place. Instead of the lines, you let the place fill up to a reasonable level and then you tell people who try and come in that they should come back in half an hour. Give them some kind of stamp so that they get priority when they do come back.
4) Music. This is a little tough. I think you have solid concepts for Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Thursday is a general blend. Friday is like a rock/hip hop night and then Saturday can be the more house/dance music kind of thing so that the place has appeal to various different crowds. This would also prevent the concept of the place getting a stigma by attracting one group of people. For example there are place throughout Manhattan that might be great places but I know they are corny Russian house music places that kids with money from Brooklyn or Jersey go to. I would never step foot in a place like that.
The critics of these basic concepts would say my ideas are not economically feasible. I disagree. The biggest flaw of clubs and restaurants is that they are fleeting and typically do not stick because eventually the concept that made the place popular initially burns out and the places slowly dies. Economically the place I described above has a much better chance to stick because it offers something to everyone so you have a better chance of creating a buzz in a lot of different scenes. So while you may lose something by not engaging in the table service, you gain it back through volume and consistency.
I will also say this has started happening as Brooklyn, which is not just the home of the hipster, has realized that even places that are beyond the pub scene can be receptive to anyone that comes. Brooklyn Bowl in Williamsburg has done an amazing job of building a place that has attracted a lot of different types of people (including having Kanye West do random performances and I saw Brandy right outside one night). They do not operate by attracting people by being exclusive. Rather they have a big place that accommodates a lot of people and they place different types of music on different nights that attract a lot of different people.
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