Ready to party hardy
New club thumbing its nose at COV fears
OPENING a nightclub in Times Square as the Delta variant rages may sound counterintuitive, but for club king Richie Romero, it’s a risk worth taking.
He says he’s found that so far, in a few test runs before a grand opening later this month, people are ready to get out of the house and spend big after having been cooped up for more than a year.
That kind of pent-up energy could help Romero when it comes to his new 700-person club, Nebula, which is set to open Sept. 23.
He could use some of that mojo at Nebula. The venue, at 135 W. 41st St., is set to be the largest nightclub to open so far in Gotham this year, with 11,000 square feet over three floors.
Romero’s partner, Yang Gao, signed a 15-year lease in late 2019. He had just launched a gut renovation when the lockdown hit in March 2020. Gao brought in Romero as managing partner in April 2020 to help navigate the pandemic.
The renovation went forward, but now is the real test: It’s a $12 million gamble.
The two are now working with their landlord for a “significant” reduction of rent, Romero said, but they wouldn’t disclose details.
Over the summer, Romero ran a series of pop-up events to “test drive” the new nightclub, trying to gain information on how people’s spending habits might have changed in the wake of COVID — and how comfortable they were going out during the pandemic at all.
“I believe in polling,” Romero said. The results made him hopeful, he said. In fact, they might point to some increased demand after being penned up throughout the lockdown.
“If people spent $1,500 on bottle service before the pandemic, they are now spending $3,000,” he said.
But some bad news looms: A new lockdown could shut it all down
again, even if, so far, city and state officials have said a new quarantine isn’t on the table. Another mask mandate and reduced seating capacity could also harm revenue.
“Dealing with Delta is total fear,” Romero said. “It’s the unknown that’s scary.”
For now, the business model remains the same. Bottle service does the heavy lifting when it comes to paying the bills, bringing in more than 50 percent of revenue, he says.
And prices have also skyrocketed since lockdown ended.
The most popular bottle now, Romero says, is a tequila, Don Julio 1942. A 750-liter bottle that sold for $800 to $1,100 pre-COVID now goes for $1,400 to $1,900, he said — and people are buying it.
But there’s a supply issue. “If you order 20 cases, you might be lucky if you get three cases,” Romero said.
Other challenges include the cost of talent, such as DJs. Romero won’t name anyone, but he says DJs who charged $25,000 per night are now charging $40,000.
“Many weren’t working during the pandemic and they are playing catch-up with their money.” Romero says he is still “figuring out” how this will affect ticket sales.