26 Orchid Ave, Surfers Paradise
I RECKON THE REASON WE’VE DONE SO WELL IS THE STAFF, YOU WON’T FIND BETTER STAFF ANYWHERE
AFTER taking over ownership of the hot spot from his father in August, Maxwell Pickering said things couldn’t be better.
It was a long time coming for the 24-year-old, who started in the club seven years ago as a glassie.
“I was working there for seven years, first as a glassie, then a bartender, then a manager and now the owner,” Max said.
“Working there so long I definitely developed a love for the place.
“I’ve been away for the past month or so, so this is great to come back to.”
While Max is the owner, you won’t find him taking credit for the club’s success, which he attributes to his staff and management team.
“I reckon the reason we’ve done so well is the staff, you won’t find better staff anywhere,” he said.
“They’re just friendly and polite to everyone but, in saying that, we have the best management team on the Coast as well.
“Service and safety are my number one things to run a club successfully.”
The Bedroom has a few iconic features behind it, from the old beds that have made a comeback since they were a part of the furniture a decade ago to the relatively new cheeseburger Sunday promotion.
Max said everything they do is just to get people in and show them a good time.
“The cheeseburgers were pretty much just because my father loves cheeseburgers and wanted everyone to be able to eat cheeseburgers in the club,” he laughed.
“He got a bit excited in the marketing meeting, we started out with 50 cheeseburgers and by the end of the meeting we were at 200.
“The beds we got back just because they were so well known back in the original Bedroom, we just wanted to bring it back.”
The beds are queen-size beds in allotted spots towards the back of the nightclub.
They were removed when the club rebranded to Vanity in 2010 in a move to attract more of the local market rather than only tourists.
Once the team were happy with their local turnout, they changed back to The Bedroom last March and reintroduced the beds.
Max said people attempted to “get naughty” from time to time but security put an end to it right away.
Over the years as Vanity and The Bedroom, the Orchid Ave underground nightclub has partied with celebrities such as Delta Goodrem, Calvin Harris, Skrillex and Justin Bieber attending. Maxwell Pickering