Flashback to sexy and sophisticated
ALL you need is a highball, a Pall Mall and a leisure suit to get this party started.
At Area nightclub, a three-month-old venue borne out of the Brent Bolthouse-Sam Nazarian partnership, they supply the rest of the midcentury ambience.
For a visual, picture Palm Springs when Sinatra ruled the airwaves and tans weren’t fake. Area offers a scrumptious trip back in time to an era when the Rat Pack reigned supreme, boots were made for walking and wood paneling wasn’t always an indicator of a cheap date.
“I feel beautiful in this space,” says Gretchen Scharf, a partyer who made the scene on New Year’s Eve. “When do you walk into a white club with all this shimmer and glass? It’s really lovely.”
Exactly the response Bolthouse and SBE mogul Nazarian were going for when they teamed up to develop the club.
“Sam and I collectively go through the concepts to create the space,” says Bolthouse, a veteran Hollywood promoter-turned-club owner. “He shares my vision for taking Los Angeles to the proper level of service, quality and sophistication.”
The design of Area is a marvel, especially when one considers it was formerly the Gate -- a sexy Gothic space that prided itself on very dark nooks for well, nookying. The only traces of the Gate are the ghosts of the Heidi Fleiss girls, who used to hang there in the early ‘90s, that still linger in the bar area.
Aside from that, everything else is light and bright and white-hot.
“It was all about the California dream,” says Bolthouse, who teamed up with designer Beau Robb, Avalon’s sound guru John Lyons and Jenifer Rosero to shape the club. “What really made the dream was the indoor-outdoor living space; that’s what we’ve created here.”
Visions of David Hockney dance in your head as you glide through Area. The club flows like a laid-back living room, with its caramel-dotted, white terrazzo floors, wood columns, white leather Barcelona chairs and delicate lighting.
An outdoor patio, visible from the club through a clear glass wall, offers such guests as the Lohans, Simpsons and Richies a chance to see and be seen. They also might note the exterior’s spot-on midcentury landscaping.
“We really have a romantic way of looking at things,” says Nazarian. “There are only a few timeless places in L.A. -- [like] the Chateau Marmont, the Four Seasons. We’re trying to create spaces that are both timeless and unique, and we’re willing to take chances, put ourselves out there to raise the nightlife bar in L.A.”
Both Area and Hyde -- a gem of a club on Sunset Boulevard -- reflect the possibilities the year-old collaboration is offering clubgoers.
“I really come here to feel good and to dance,” says Shira Jones, an Area fan who’s also spent time at Hyde. “I think they’re really taking what they do serious and they’re really taking care of us.”
The company’s vice president of restaurant and nightlife, Costas Charalambous, can often be found working his way through the crowded room, offering hands-on attention to anyone who needs it. “The best thing for me is when people walk out and say they’ve had another fantastic time and they’ll be back,” he says. “And then, they come back.”
The personalized service is a far cry from the clubs that populate the dance world -- cavernous spaces where the only personal attention you’ll get is security frisking you on the way in. At Area, it’s all about ease, and you can also dine (the platters of food are generous) with your dancing.
Of course, these days no proper hot club is complete without sexy waitress costumes. Area’s dolls are dressed straight out of the early ‘60s. L.A. designer Debby Dean created ensembles that include pop art mini-dresses, shimmery hot pants, fishnet stockings and knee-high, white patent leather boots.
The music is easy on the ears too. Bolthouse cultivates Hollywood’s top DJs to spin loads of hip-hop, soul, pop and rock to keep the party moving.
And although they are still using promoters, Area is beginning to cultivate a clientele that shows up, well, just because.
“I don’t care what night it is,” patron Charlie Kenner says, “the girls are always hot.”
There’s that.
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Area
Where: 643 N. La Cienega Blvd., Los Angeles
When: 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. Monday, Thursday through Saturday and occasionally Sunday.
Price: Cover varies; 21 and older
Info: (310) 652-2012; www.sbeent.com
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