New club on Main Street promises lights, drinks and action

Level will be as slick as Montego Cafe was funky.

That’s the word from Brad McCray as he prepares 315 Main St. for its third incarnation in two years, since the vacant Gus Blass Co. warehouse (built c. 1901) was resurrected in 2011 as the first development in the largely derelict strip in downtown Little Rock.

September has not been a good month for the location created by Scott Reed and partners.

That’s the month in 2012 that Porter’s Jazz Cafe called it quits after a financially troubled year’s operation.

McCray (who was not involved in Porter’s) shut down the Jamaican-theme Montego Cafe restaurant and club in early September over disagreements with Chris Bowen after the two had established the club as a late-night destination.

The entertainment — jazz musicians of regional and national note under the banner of the Porters, father and son, and the reggae, blues and jazz headliners of Montego — apparently was too expensive for the below-street-level venue.

That won’t be a problem at Level.

The music, “top 40” and electronic, will be recorded and orchestrated by DJs.

Much thought has gone into the new layout and the lighting, McCray said.

The upper level will be a lounge and bar — gone will be the booths and dining tables, replaced by sectionals, chair groupings and coffee tables — overlooking an “ultrasleek dance club,” McCray said. Food will be “pub fare,” ranging from smoked ribs to sliders.

Level will offer “expensive signature drinks” with such names as “Wild Rabbit” and “Hustler” aimed at the 25-to35 crowd.

The LED lighting will be heavily influenced by Las Vegas and South Beach, Miami, he said. Level was the name of a club in Miami Beach that was said to “rival the best dance clubs in history.”

Opening night will be Halloween, McCray said. Initially, the days and hours will be Wednesday through Saturday from 4 p.m. till 2 a.m.

So far, nothing has popped up in the way of a complaint with the state Alcoholic Beverage Control agency to spook McCray’s application for his club. The Little Rock Police Department has until Oct. 24 to file one. Otherwise, it’s lights,

drinks and action at Level.

LA Fitness is touting — by direct mail and in newspaper ads — that it will soon open a club at the Park Avenue Center on University Avenue in Little Rock, but the company is already planning another for the city.

The second will be at 11700 Chenal Parkway in the old Sports Authority building. Since that one will not have to be built from the ground up, the fitness chain says both will be open before the end of the year.

The two clubs will employ about 100 in full-time and parttime positions, the company said in a news release.

How about a third for the area?

Greg Mueller, director of operations for the Ashley Co., which owns the Lakewood Village shopping center in North Little Rock, told the city back in August that the company planned to tear down the Lakewood 8 movie theater and replace it with an LA Fitness.

He said plans were not finalized with LA Fitness. Efforts then to contact the fitness club chain were unsuccessful, as they were more recently. Ashley Co. had no comment. If you have a tip, call Jack Weatherly at (501) 378-3518 or email him at jweatherly@arkansasonline.com