Clubland, NY 10013

2007_08_arts_chinameatpacking.jpgWill Manhattan's clubs be moving to the 10013? With the group that opened Cain on 27th Street having opened Gold Bar at 389 Broome Street in February; and uber-promoter Danny A having opened the VIP-only Upstairs on Spring Street and Broadway, The Observer is reporting on a move of "clubland" to Chinatown.

Following the flock is former model Emma Cleary who purchased Double Happiness at 173 Mott Street. The lounge will open as a "hip speakeasy" by Thanksgiving. She's not the only one heading downtown, either. Nightlife brokers have been checking out the location for prime real estate, determined to make the area the Meatpacking District Part Two. Who can you expect in their establishments (if you get in)? One person at Gold Bar says, “It’s not the normal cast that you find at 27th Street. The other night, there were a bunch of finance guys on one side of the bar and a pro skater who was in town from Jackson Hole on the other," further stating he has "set the tone for the area." We just got chills (the bad kind).

We suppose with places like Capitale (pictured) in the old Bowery Savings Bank building...this really shouldn't come as a surprise. We were warned of this via a 2004 press release (PDF) from ExploreChinatown.com which stated, "nightlife in Chinatown has gone way beyond karaoke in the last several years. These days, the neighborhood is home to one of the biggest special events venues in Manhattan..." But then they listed three karaoke bars and an open mic spot called Teabag, so we didn't take them seriously.

Photo via WallyG's Flickr.

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Comments (14) [rss]

I can't wait to see how this plays out -- some cracked out chick in Manalo Blahniks slipping on fishguts on the sidewalk, confused old Asian women smacking rude drag queens with their handbags.

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first, goldbar's crowd is the exact same set of douchebags up at 27th street; second this will play out the same way it did in an area with fewer neighbors that was zoned for commercial use--only faster. none of these spaces will be open within a year and a half due to neighbor complaints.

To add to #2's comment, the doormen at Gold Bar are just as big douchebags on Broome Street as they would be on 27th Street...

And some rock stars want to bring a strip club to Kenmare and Elizabeth.

http://www.downtownexpress.com/de_216/dontturnonthered.html

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the big eighties is coming back.
and, I'm ready.
molon labe.

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And some rock stars want to bring a strip club to Kenmare and Elizabeth.

Burlesque and strip club are really not the same thing.


Anyway, this just goes to show how provincial and prudish and lame New Yorkers are.

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2 hit it right on the head.

I miss the days of licensed crack den afterhours joints in this town. Bottle service just doesn't have the same allure, no matter what the hour

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These places seem to be in Nolita, not Chinatown. Chinatown doesn't start until you get south of Grand.

And Nolita, a physically beautiful area during the week, is already almost as badly overrun by B & T on the weekends as the Meatpacking District. I'm not sure how these changes will do anything other than cement it. Unfortunately, Nolita is on several subway lines so its harder to avoid. Another New York neighborhood where native New Yorkers can't go to without vomiting.

Burlesque and strip club are really not the same thing.

Anyway, this just goes to show how provincial and prudish and lame New Yorkers are.

Yes, strip clubs are the height of sophistication and worldliness. And with the club comes intrusive noise, arrogant doorpeople and staff, noisy late-night crowds on the sidewalks, and automobiles double-parked, music blaring and horns honking. But that's what makes New York City great! As long as it's not outside of your window.

Oh sorry, it's not a strip club, but *ahem* burlesque. Or is that just a fancy term used to dress up a strip joint?

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I'm gonna try and send all the nighttime rats to their door. I heard peanut butter is good. or, just get a crate of dead fish, too bad the fish market at South Street seaport moved. There used to be crates of dead unsold fish all along the under roadway of the FDR.

Hey #8, hate to break it to you but Capitale is firmly in Chinatown. It used to be that Chinatown was pretty contained by certain street boundaries, but it's spread north and east in recent years -- there are several Chinese establishments north of Delancey as far east as Essex, and let's not forget that Little Italy has been mostly overrun at this point.

Gold Bar is definitely not in Chinatown, though. Not yet, anyway...

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Everybody loves these clubs till they are in their neighborhood. So these freakin' club owners go where they know people will have a hard time speaking out against it.

Why arent' these venues on the Upper West Side or the Upper East Side?

- Squid guts

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I hope it will be hard to get a liquor license if there's a Headstart program nearby and it's a titty bar for the rich.

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Poster number 12 is right on.

These are great until they start showing up where you live and you have B&T shouting and throwing up in front of your doorstep.

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