Nightlife News: bottle service

Showing posts with label bottle service. Show all posts

Tuesday, January 6, 2009

Bottle Service Debates, Club Priests and the Best of 2008

Nightlife News for January 5th, 2009

By Gamal Hennessy

Bottle Service isn’t dead. Or is it?
David Hauslaib asserts that the bottle service trend is alive and well, although his argument using the Eldridge is less than compelling. While Scott Solish of the New York Observer provides anecdotal evidence that that economic trend is suffering and may not come back.

If Your Bar Moves, Will You Move With It?
You’ve owned a spot for years. You have a good set of loyal regulars. The economy forces you to change locations in an attempt to save money. Will your loyal regulars be there for your grand re-opening? Glenn Collins of the New York Times isn’t so sure…

When Generosity is Clearly a Sin
Did you hear the one about the priest who holds down the VIP? Well, Sean Evans and Tracy Connor of the Daily News reported on Father Greg Malia living the high life in New York’s most expensive clubs. Unfortunately Fox News followed up that story with news that the church rewarded his nightlife attraction by firing him.

The Best of 2008
Good Night Mr. Lewis author Steven Lewis highlights his picks for best club, best DJ, best party, best blog and best trend in nightlife. Unfortunately New York Nights wasn’t picked for best blog, but we’re hoping to do better next year.

What do you think? Is bottle service on the way out? Will patrons follow a bar? What was your favorite spot of 2008? Add a comment and let us know.

Have fun.
Gamal

Tuesday, December 30, 2008

New York Nights: The Year in Review

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Beyond the Vodka Redbull

By Gamal Hennessy

The New York nightlife industry is extremely competitive. There are more than 1,000 places for people to choose from and new spots open up every week. Venues are constantly looking for ways to set themselves apart so they don’t lose business. While they are not universal, specialty drinks are becoming a tool in this arsenal in the same way that music, décor and exclusivity can be used to offer people a different type of experience. This is creating an environment where the visibility of the bartender is on the rise.

The economics of drinking
Recent history has not favored signature cocktails. In the era of bottle service bartenders were little more than unseen warehouse attendants, fetching bottles and filling carafes so shapely hostesses could deliver the generic cranberry, orange juice and coke with the marked up liquor. But that situation is changing. The soft economy has put a dent in the bottle service concept and it is unclear if it will survive the downturn. If bottle service is going the way of Merrill Lynch, then clubs and lounges will need new tricks to get people in the door.

Many new venues are opening with a unique menu of signature drinks to break away from the pack. In this system, the bartender becomes analogous to the DJ blending fresh juices, berries and flavored liquor in the same way a DJ blends songs and beats to create something different. Similarity between drinks at different bars is probably inevitable in the same way different DJ’s in the same genre can all sound the same after a while but the opportunity for a distinctive reputation exists with signature drinks in a way that doesn’t exist with bottle service.

Signature drinks can also be a good source of revenue in a down economy. These new drinks normally go for $12-$20 each (while this is exorbitant outside of Manhattan, it doesn’t raise many eyebrows here) so a person who has three of these creations can easily be spending $50 without the tip. Add snacks into the mix and a night of cocktails for two can bring in almost as much money as a couple having dinner. While it won’t completely replace the revenue lost from bottles (it would take five people buying five $20 cocktails each to replace one $500 bottle of Grey Goose) it can soften the financial blow.

Winners and losers
Signature drinks offer something to customers, bartenders and to the club owners. It also signals a shift within the bartending market. No comprehensive study has been done, but anecdotal evidence suggests that some older bartenders who learned on the job over a period of many years are being replaced by younger, professionally trained, and often better looking “mixologists”. Can the older bartenders learn to make the new style drinks? Absolutely. But when presentation counts as much as the taste of the drink the younger bartender has a distinct advantage.

Keep in mind that there is a specific market for specialty drinks. They are primarily geared toward women who are willing to experiment. Guys aren’t usually interested in Asian pear martinis or chocolate cosmos, and there are women who will cling to their vodka red bull like a crack head to a pipe. But nightlife caters to women. Women will go where the drinks are. Men will go where the women are. Everyone will spend more money. Any thing that will bring more women through the door is worth a try. So more places will probably come up with their own specialty drinks…

Tuesday, October 7, 2008

Dancers Claim Abuse at Dollar Dance Clubs

By Gamal Hennessy

In the outer boroughs, there are clubs that are different than the lounges or nightclubs you might be used to. These are clubs frequented by immigrant laborers and staffed by women who are paid, per dance, to dance with the patrons. A new report and federal lawsuit claims that these women are abused on several levels. Is the situation different in mainstream clubs, or is the situation just a difference of degrees?

A report in last week’s Associated Press explained that dollar dance clubs exist in various Latin American neighborhoods around the city. While it is not a strip club, women are paid to dance with men. Men pay $2 for a single dance or $40 for an hour of company. Prostitution is not supposed to be part of the job, but workers frequently have to be protected by security from over aggressive patrons who want more than just a dance and within their communities these women are often viewed as prostitutes.

A recent crime has pushed these clubs into the spotlight. In December of 2007, a 24 year old dancer named Adriana Valderrama was shot and killed near the Tulcingo Café in Queens. The ensuing investigation revealed allegations of sexual harassment and unsafe working conditions inside dollar dance clubs.

The perceptions and allegations surrounding dollar dance clubs are not limited to the outer boroughs. High profile spots like The Box are also currently facing allegations of sexual abuse and trading female attention for money is a common practice in modern clubs. They call it dollar dancing. We call it bottle service. One practice is explicit, the other is only implied. The prices might be different, but the end result is the same. People (men and women) come to the conclusion that sexually charged social interaction can be purchased.

This is not criticism of sexuality in nightlife, or a condemnation of buying a woman a drink. It is a critique against the concept of buying company. It is easier to buy a dollar dance than to actually approach a woman. It is a display of social value to buy a bottle for female attention, even if the tactic lacks subtlety. But the closer the connection we have between money and sex, the more nightlife will be perceived in a negative light. There has been a link between money and sex since money was invented, but managing that perception is crucial to the image of the city’s clubs.

Have fun.
Gamal

Source: Christian Salazar: Associated Press

Tuesday, September 30, 2008

What’s Going on Inside the Box?

By Gamal Hennessy

The future looks uncertain for the downtown cabaret known as The Box. Once seen as a symbol of a new era in nightlife, it quickly became known for celebrity bottle service and risqué burlesque shows. Now it is under attack from local residents and its own staff. Will it weather the current storm? Do we want it to?

Originally conceived as dinner theater and not a club, The Box opened in offering high priced sexually charged performances like “Twincest” from the Porcelain Twinz and other members of the Hammerstein Beauties. It quickly became a magnet for celebrities and celebrity watchers.

But less than two years after its opening, the club (or if you prefer dinner theater) is under siege. From the outside, community board 3 has made threats against its liquor license, claiming that the traffic problems and noise that the Box generates make it undesirable. From the inside, there are threats of a lawsuit from the Twinz who claim the Box has “…unsafe working conditions, prostitutes on staff, in house drug dealing, open drug use throughout the club, and coerced sex with management as a condition of continued employment…”

The owners of the Box have issued a public defense of what they describe as their creative practices, and they are working with the community board to resolve the outstanding issues before their application goes back before the board in October. While a member of the board has stated that the possible employment suit is brought to the attention of the State Liquor Authority, it is not brought before the board in relation to the license.

Is the Box a victim of disgruntled workers and anti-social residents? Or is it an abusive pit of sex and drugs? Or is it both? The problem with cases like the Box is that the truth is often at the mercy of personal perception and it might be impossible to find out. New York Nights is an advocate of the nightlife industry, but we only support venues that add to the quality of nightlife in the city. Clubs that leave our nightlife open to public attack need to close. Anti-nightlife advocates create their own reasons for wanting clubs closed. We don’t have to help them by playing into their stereotypes.

Have fun.
Gamal

Source: Allen Salkin: New York Times

Give us your opinion on what’s going on. Use the comments space below to tell people what you think.

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Rise of the Wagonistas

By Gamal Hennessy

There are three categories of people when it comes to drinking. There are those who drink, those who drink too much, and those who don’t drink at all. It has recently come to light that influential people in traditionally liquor soaked industries are avoiding liquor as part of a long term career strategy. But is any kind of extremist stance is a good idea?

There is no official definition of a wagonista, so I’m going to make one up. A wagonista is a person who frequents parties, clubs, concerts and other social events, but does not drink at those events. A wagonista chooses not to drink primarily because they want to avoid the negative social and professional effects of a hangover.

If you’ve ever worked in fashion, media, advertising or entertainment then you know that going out for drinks after work is part of the work. You may have also experienced a distinct lack of productivity in the hours and days following successful “meetings” over drinks. You might even be the person who has embarrassed themselves in front of clients, subordinates and superiors during a drunken binge. If you are one of these people, then it makes sense to go to the bar, but skip the Cuervo shots. Notable New York players including Anna Wintour, Diane von Furstenberg, Barry Diller and Donald Trump have all come to the conclusion that going to the party is fine, but drinking at the party is bad for business.

People choose to avoid liquor for a variety of reasons besides their careers. Health and cost are important factors too. Recent studies show that U.S. alcohol consumption is down, for reasons tied to physical and mental health. Our current economic woes are reigning in out of control bottle service, so not drinking can be cheaper when you go out, if you happen to be paying for your drinks at all. Liquor is poison and there are many reasons not to drink too much, but the key here is too much.

It’s probably a good idea not to drink yourself into a stupor every time you go networking, but is the opposite extreme any better? If you don’t drink, maybe you won’t get invited to the late night soiree where you can rub shoulders with the big dogs. If you don’t drink, people might mistrust you, freeze you out, or otherwise undercut your image.

The problem here isn’t drinking, its binge drinking. Wagonistas want to avoid being sloppy in front of colleagues and be productive at work the next day. But there is no rule that says you have to get drunk when you go out drinking. You don’t have to get a hangover after every night out. If you chose to drink heavily every night or you chose to reject social drinking entirely, you are taking an extreme position. New Yorkers by and large take a very dim view of extremists, religious or otherwise. Choosing responsible indulgence instead gives you the chance to socialize, sip the champagne and be good for work the next day. It doesn’t have to be one or the other. You can have both.

Have fun.
Gamal

Source: Annie Karni: New York Post

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

The Beginning of the End for Bottle Service

By Gamal Hennessy

The state of the financial markets has a ripple effect on New York nightlife. The most immediate impact will probably be on the pervasive practice of bottle service. Certain clubs are already scaling back their bottle service promotions. While it might not disappear, bottle service won’t be able to survive as a widespread practice. How will the nightlife landscape change if the bottle goes the way of Lehman Brothers?

When you order bottle service, you’re basically paying for temporary prestige in a club. You and a few of your friends get to skip the line and sit at a table instead of standing. Your one (or more) bottles of liquor and mixers are served by an attractive waitress so you don’t have to fight for drinks at the bar. Your area is often defined by a velvet rope so you don’t have to mingle with commoners.

The cost of this prestige has no realistic relationship to the actual cost of the liquor. A $70-$80 bottle of Gray Goose can easily go for $500. When you buy bottle service, you’re sending the social message “I am a VIP. I can afford to be extravagant.” Club owners have profited from people’s need for prestige. One owner said that bottle service accounted for up to 70% of his bottom line revenue.

Bottle service has been a staple in nightlife for more than 10 years. It survived the bursting of the internet bubble and the war on terror. When the housing market began to soften, bottle service was still a widespread practice fueled by hedge fund managers, i-bankers, and corporate sponsored credit cards. The fall of several key financial houses in the past two months will probably dry up money available to FIRE workers (finance, insurance and real estate), who make up 20% of the nightlife patrons, so bottle service might not be able to withstand the current storm. It will be difficult for bottle service to survive if there the only people who can afford it are movie stars, drug kingpins and oil barons.

The backlash has already started taking shape. Prominent clubs like Prime are announcing a retreat from bottle service and a renewed commitment to ‘catering to the customer’. Prominent nightlife insiders are predicting that the overall club market will contract as poorly run clubs die off and well run spots adapt to the new environment. While the economics of bottle service compensate for the realities of operating costs, clubbers like me (who can’t justify the cost of bottle service) see a positive change for the better. The average club customer who couldn’t afford a bottle may no longer be treated like a second hand citizen. Clubs might become more about pleasure and less about posturing and prestige. History has shown that people continue to drink during bad economic times, so even the i-bankers will still belly up to the bar. They just won’t be able to separate themselves from the commoners.

Have fun.
Gamal

Tuesday, January 6, 2009

Bottle Service Debates, Club Priests and the Best of 2008