All the News and Sushi Too

This former dusty pueblo has long been stereotyped as willing to fulfill every whim of American visitors as long as the price is right.

So when the city grew to more than 1.5 million during an economic boom in the 1980s, it was no surprise when yuppie Tijuanans built a classy district for their own drinking and dancing--away from the tourist strip known as Avenida Revolucion and in a new area known as the Zona Rio , which became home to spectacular night clubs patronized by Mexicans.

First to settle along this Tijuana River valley, joining upscale eateries and shopping malls, was Oh!, opened in 1983 and hailed by Billboard magazine as one of the best nightclubs in the world. Then came Baby Rock, a huge venue decorated inside and out as a cave; Heaven and Hell, which recently went out business, and News, all established in the late 1980s.

News is the youngest and arguably the most breathtaking of the three remaining clubs. Costing the equivalent of $2 million, it should be. This month marks its second year, though the anniversary celebration is scheduled for May when a remodeling and redecorating project is finished. In charge is Nico Nassif, partner in a corporation that owns three other News nightclubs and more than 40 other clubs and restaurants throughout Mexico.

Even with its two-year-old trappings (old in club time), News is a monument to Tijuana’s recent wealth. Velvet ropes and several doorman keep a large, well-dressed crowd at bay as eyes meet and the magic nods are given for admittance.

Up a few flights of stairs and past the bar is a panoramic view of the black and purple, arena-sized interior: 38,750 square feet of drink-and-dance floor space for up to 2,000 revelers, 12 palm trees (yes, they’re inside), nine movie screens, three levels of seating and four private “champagne rooms” for VIPs.

Music by deejay Ulysses, ranging from remixed New Wave to Belgian techno to modern disco-salsa, is so sharp and heavy that the club’s loudspeakers emit a slight breeze on certain notes. Lights hanging from the white metal rafters sway with the beat as the small, early crowd moves in to test the dance floor at 11 p.m.

“Where are the video screens?” a visitor yells.

Marco Victoria, dapper in the News uniform of black pants and white pressed shirt, and at 22 the youngest among managers at the five News night clubs, waves toward the deejay’s booth, and a scoreboard-sized block descends as smoothly as a movie spaceship. On this block are 48 video monitors.

Is there anything News doesn’t have?

Let’s see, it offers volleyball on Thursday nights, an alcohol-free children’s night on Sunday, a 600-capacity bar downstairs called Banana-Ranas that teems with youth, a boutique selling $12 News T-shirts, a snack bar with nachos and hamburgers ($2 to $5). There must be something it doesn’t have.

Sushi--that’s it, sushi. “We’re planning to build a sushi bar in two months,” says Victoria. “This is the only club in Zona Rio that doesn’t have one.”

What it also doesn’t have is Americans--at least not a lot of them.

The clubs at first intentionally avoided attracting the clientele of the beer joints on the rowdy Avenida Revolucion, where Americans under 21 break the laws against public drunkenness, fighting and lewd behavior. But now that Tijuana’s boom has slowed, Victoria hopes to nab some young Yankees with promotions such as its Thursday night “Beach Party” theme and possibly even by putting on raves.

A handful of Americans do come from Southern California to experience this full-course nightclub because it rivals the most chichi in Los Angeles, Victoria says.

And there are a few college kids who find their way to News. Jennifer Baker, a 20-year-old San Diego State University student, likes the pomp and pampering.

“I’ve been to the bars in the states.” Baker says, “They’re pick-up joints. Here, it’s a whole different scene. I don’t feel like the people come here to go home with someone.

“I like getting dressed up in heels and nylons and coming down here,” she says. “They treat you like a special guest.

“It’s a real night out.”

Name: News, Pueblo Amigo, Tijuana. Open Thursday through Sunday, with hours on weekends from 10:30 p.m. until the last few guests remain (usually about 4 a.m.). Take Interstate 5 to the border. Immediately inside Mexico, small blue signs give directions to the Pueblo Amigo shopping mall. Another option is to park in the United States, walk across the border and take a cab for about $1 per person. Free parking and valet parking are available at the mall. For more information, call News at 011-52-66-82-49-67.

Cover: $15 on Thursdays includes an open beer bar; $10 Fridays and Saturdays; $3 Sundays (alcohol-free children’s day) for those 18 and under. Annual membership, which allows free admission for members and up to three guests, costs $400. The club can also be rented for special events for about $5,000.

Door policy: Pick-and-choose. It doesn’t hurt to be an attractive woman or to have one by your side.

Drinks: Beer and mixed drinks start at $3. VIP tables come with the purchase of a bottle of hard liquor, which starts at $40.