Posts

Pendry San Diego to Feature New Nightclub – Oxford Social Club

The first round of food and drink reveals slated for the Gaslamp’s forthcoming Pendry San Diego, the first hotel site for a new luxury brand developed by the well-regarded Montage Hotels & Resorts, contained a trio of venues that will be operated in partnership with Clique Hospitality, including Lionfish, its signature restaurant helmed by local chef Jose “JoJo” Ruiz (Ironside).

Due to open in the Gaslamp by late 2016, the Pendry is aiming to offer much more than just a swanky hotel stay; in addition to the Lionfish restaurant, The Pool House rooftop lounge, and nightlife venue Oxford Social Club, the 12-story complex will also house three more hospitality concepts designed to attract both locals and tourists. Of course, bottle service at the Oxford Social Club will be available.

Craft beer-centric Nason’s Beer Hall, named after the Nason & Co. Farmer’s Market that once operated at the same downtown site in the 1900s, will feature a deep tap list San Diego-made beers and international brews, plus a menu of global comfort food, and entertainment via vintage bar games.

At the Pendry’s lobby bar, Fifth & Rose, craft cocktails and elevated bar food will be served in a living room-inspired setting.

And its all-day eatery, dubbed Provisional Kitchen, Café & Mercantile, is being designed in collaboration with Raan and Lindsay Parton of Alchemy Works in Los Angeles. The greenhouse-like space will encompass a restaurant, which will offer a seasonal menu and takeaway options, and a marketplace retailing everything from homeware to gourmet pantry items and jewelry. In the communal dining room will be a full-service espresso bar fueled by Vittoria Coffee, an Australian brand which also runs the coffee program at Big Sur’s Post Ranch Inn.

4 A.M. Last Call Proposed for California Clubs

Young tourists seeking a taste of Los Angeles nightlife are almost always in for a bitter pill. As originally reported on L.A. Weekly.

Expecting Hollywood glamour and all-night partying on a world-class level, revelers from out of town are more likely to get kicked to the curb at 2 a.m. because of California’s strict alcohol laws.

It’s embarrassing. State Sen. Mark Leno today announced that he has introduced legislation that would change our party pooper ways:

He wants to allow local governments to extend drinking hours until 4 a.m. Woot-woot?

Leno:
“This legislation would allow destination cities like San Francisco, Los Angeles and San Diego to start local conversations about the possibility of expanding nightlife and the benefits it could provide the community by boosting jobs, tourism and local tax revenue.”

His bill, SB 635, would allow only nightclubs and restaurants to go until 4 a.m. (Stores that sell alcohol would still be subject to earlier hours).

Leno’s office says it would help bring California nightlife in line with that of such after-hours beacons as Las Vegas, New York, Chicago and Miami.

The legislation is supported by the California Restaurant Association.

cropped-screen-shot-2012-10-03-at-6_13_07-pm1

Some have argued that having all the drunk people leave bars at 2 a.m. puts pressure on communities and police, and that later closing times might actually spread the burden and allow some to sober up if they so chose.

Matt Gray, executive director of Taxpayers for Improving Public Safety:

“Uniform closing times put significant stress on public transportation systems and the law enforcement agencies tasked with managing and dispersing large crowds of patrons when they all leave the clubs at 2 a.m.”

But the big argument here is money. Lots of it. Leno’s office notes that nightlife in California is worth billions and that we’re home to 1 out of every 4 top-grossing nightlife venues in the nation.

However, the top 10 venues are in late-night-serving cities like New York, Vegas and Miami. Leno:

“Many cities in California have dynamic social activities that are vital to their economies, but they lack the flexibility to expand their businesses.”

Are you for this? (We know you are).

Fluxx San Diego offers “Wolf of Wallstreet” Package for 50k

Fluxx San Diego, a nightclub located in San Diego, is capitalizing on how very much the party elite wanted to live like “Wolf” Jordan Belfort by offering a lavish Wolf of Wall Street Party Package to the tune of $50,000.

So how does one live like Belfort in a legal way?

Fluxx will have a chef cater a private dinner on a luxury yacht, offer transportation to the club in a Rolls Royce limousine, offer partygoers a center VIP table with a 6L bottle of Ace of Spades Brut champagne (delivered by Mighty Mike, the nightclub’s midget “superhero”, no less) and a one-night stay in the Hotel Palomar’s 2-bedroom Penthouse Suite.

Fluxx has been voted San Diego’s #1 nightclub for the past three years, so chances are you’ll have an epic time living large.

 

Parq Nightclub San Diego

Parq SD Debuts at On Broadway Space

San Diego continues to up its club scene with the debut of Parq on Oct. 28. The Alice in Wonderland-esque experience comes complete with a video confessional, makeup artists at the ready and a Vegas chef serving fancy food fuel for dancing.

Carlos Becerra’s Parq replaces the famed On Broadway club space at 6th and Broadway, which shuttered two years ago for a multi-million dollar gut renovation. The 38,000-square-foot finished product is no less than spectacular.

Top interior design firm Davis Ink (AD Nightclub, Pink Cadillac) split the space into a restaurant and nightclub component that can function in conjunction with each other or as separate venues.

 

 

Guests enter through two gigantic glass roll-up garage doors, where they’re met by a 12-foot-tall psychedelic vertical garden. A park-like oasis with reclaimed wood, custom yucca trees, and various types of greenery contrasts to industrial materials of concrete, aged brick, and metal mesh.

The 5,000-square-foot restaurant features high beams that open into the night sky. A patchwork booth uses upholstery inspired by designer Davis Krumin‘s vintage jackets. Also spotted in the whale-sized space: Warm walnut wood tones, custom metal tree branch dividers, and an alternating black-and-white striped restroom.

Chef Errol Le Blanc, who worked under Charlie Palmer at top Vegas dining destination Aureole and locally at Cafe Sevilla, brings a farm-to-table experience described as “progressive American.” Known for his off-the-wall concepts and creativity, his menu include seared ahi, “jars and such” (confit, toppings, charcuterie), a meat and potato section (White Marble Farms Pork Ribeye) and fish dishes like Maine Lobster Relleno.

Party goers enter the 20,000-square-foot club through a cavernous brick tunnel with chandeliers flickering overhead. Acrylic tubes wrap from the wall overhead to the ceiling and a custom bottle display with hundreds of individual wood boxes, outlined with LED lighting, frames the main bar.

The nightclub resembles a women’s makeup lounge, replete with its own bar, where makeup artists stand at the ready to make sure that faces are party perfect–and ready for the photo booth.

General Manager Louis Pelliccia (formerly of LA’s famed Kress) says the new space will put San Diego on the map as a nightlife destination, with Cirque-esque performances and top-notch lighting and music. And gone are the days of dead cell phones while waiting for friends to arrive; each booth is stocked with phone chargers.

For more info visit our Guide to Parq SD. Book Parq bottle service, or see upcoming events at Parq’s website at parqsd.com.