Friday, July 17
Posted 2 p.m. EDT
In the latest salvo against the rich, their ultra-exclusive Big Apple nightclubs are being reclassified as circa-1970s basement rec rooms.
Gone are the days of the $18 cocktail, according to this article in The New York Times. Now you'll lounge with a few friends sharing plastic cups of beer, and maybe shoot a little pool. Like the song says, "I'm not big on social graces."
It seems the trendy New York nightclubs (only don't call them that now) are having trouble attracting enough patrons who are willing to pay big bucks just to say they partied in the same room as the latest hot model or actor. Revenues are down 20 percent to 40 percent in the last year, and several clubs have closed.
Now, haughtiness is as stylish as a balloon payment, David Rabin was quoted as saying in the article. He's an owner of multiple bars, clubs and restaurants and the president of the New York Nightlife Association.
But the places to see and, especially, be seen, aren't likely to evaporate in a slick of stale beer. The yachts will still muscle in on the Riviera -- albeit the "new" Riviera on the Dalmatian coast off of Croatia -- and the glitterati, though diminished in number, will still attend lavishly understated fundraising parties in Palm Beach.
The Manhattan nightclubs are just gyrating in the way they always have to attract the latest iteration of the beautiful people. From speakeasies to flashing-mirrored discos to hip-hop bling and now rec-room chic, the ones who correctly read the fads will survive.