 Last month, mr.Black, New York’s infamous dance den, launched its new Wednesday night party. But it wasn’t at a posh new club in Brooklyn, Hell’s Kitchen or even the LES; it was in Los Angeles. Freaks and fans from all walks of nightlife—including New York ex-pat James St James—descended on the vintage-styled Vine Street club to experience a Big Apple-branded party that had reached legendary status. What’s more, while the tan tricks of Hollywood danced the night away in Los Angeles, the original mr.Black was homeless as they made the move to their newest location on the Bowery. “With New York going through so much drama and everyone complaining about how nightlife sucks right now I refused to be bogged down in the negativity,” says mr.Black’s 32-year-old proprietor, Stuart Black. “The only way to strengthen what I had created was to take it to the rest of the world.”
And mr.Black isn’t alone. Gym Sportsbar recently branched out with a second location, also in Los Angeles. The owners of the popular gay sportsclub knew there was a market for their brand outside of New York, but even they didn’t expect the welcome they received when eager sport-loving ’mos forced the bar to open early just so they could catch the start of their East Coast ball games. Co-owner Rick Schmutzler says the response has been “overwhelmingly positive. We’ve worked really hard to build a strong brand identity in New York and that has helped immensely in getting a foot in the door in L.A.”
So what is it about New York that has allowed successful brands such as these to expand around the country despite the constant threat of the big bad recession? And what exactly does it take to make your brand work outside the cutthroat bubble of Manhattan?
Long before mr.Black and Gym Sportsbar entered the West Coast game, g Lounge co-owner Michael McGrail capitalized on the success of his Chelsea lounge by bringing the formula to West Hollywood with here Lounge. “Originally we thought that we would more or less clone the lounge concept that worked exceptionally well in New York,”
McGrail says about the now eight-year-old bar. “We quickly discovered some major cultural differences between the two cities. The bar in L.A. in reality is a nightclub. Most nights had to have a theme and required promoters,” something that proved to be much more difficult than at his bar in New York. “Opening a business across the country requires a great deal of travel and lots of additional expenses like architects, lawyers and hotel bills,” McGrail goes on. Still, it was here’s New York cousin, g Lounge, that gave it the boost to survive the turbulent landscape of owning a bar in the past decade and, McGrail explains, that it’s Manhattan credibility matters. “Some people like to think that New York is tough, cold and impenetrable [but] I think that most of the country—gays especially—can’t wait to visit and often eventually wind up living in New York,” he admits. “When the rest of the world thinks of America they think of New York, not Phoenix, Akron or Tampa. New York has an international population that gives it a cache among all American cities.”
For Vlada Von Shats, namesake of the upscale Russian-themed lounge Vlada in Hell’s Kitchen, it was a matter of pleasing not only her patrons, but also herself. “Many Vlada customers spend their winter in Miami,” says the 45-year-old owner. “And I like the warm climate.” So six months ago, in the up-and-coming Wynwood Art District just outside South Beach, Von Shots opened her second orange-colored gay outpost. For her the location was crutial in retaining the kind of elements that made her New York original work. “I realized that a lot of boys moved out of the touristy and overpriced South Beach to the mainland, where they can get a lot more for their money,” Von Shots explains of the location, adding, “The slogan [is]: Miami Heat meets New York Chic and Midtown New York comes to Midtown Miami. It worked great. We have people from Chicago, Philly, Boston and most of the northeastern states that [have] bought apartments in Miami and [are] spending their winters there. Vlada MIA is their meeting destination.”
And bars are not the only ones that are making the move. Lips, the venerable drag institution that has delighted hungry homos and bachelorette parties alike for over 13 years, opened a second location in San Diego 11 years ago and a third in Fort Lauderdale in 2007. “Our success in New York has been the force that made opening in California and Florida possible,” says franchise founder Mark Zschiesche, better known by his drag alter ego, Yvonne Lamé. “It seems like once you have success here, the rest of the country wants in. When we opened in California and Florida, having New York was the shot in the arm [any] business would want. It really put us over the top,” and is something that has allowed them to evolve from a small business in the village to the Hard Rock Café of drag dining, with more restaurants on the way. “Last month we made a trip to L.A. and have begun negotiations on a location not far from the Ivy,” announces Zschiesche. “Hollywood, here we come!”
However, expanding elsewhere isn’t an easy task. Like Mcgrail, Erin McKenna, the 33-year-old founder of Lower East Side vegan bakery BabyCakes, was surprised to
discover how difficult it was to open a Los Angeles outpost and what it taught her about her own brand. “L.A. has been exponentially more difficult than New York,” McKenna tells us, a sentiment many other owners shared with us. “There are so many rules and so many more codes [that] you feel as though the city really doesn’t want you to open anything at all.” Still, when foodie fans are theoretically banging on their doors to open, McKenna doesn’t have a choice but to navigate the red tape. “The bakery’s already got a huge buzz and the calls from L.A. asking when it’s opening are endless and daily,” McKenna says. [Editors note: plans are to open sometime this winter]. “[Expanding has] taught me the importance of continuity in the brand and the importance of keeping the quality of my products high.”
When it comes to pleasing one’s fans, no expansion has been more extreme than that of No Parking’s Brian Washington-Palmer, who took his Washington Heights outpost halfway around the world. “I was approached by some friends from South Africa who travel here often and liked what we were presenting at No Parking,” Palmer explains. “They wanted to try and duplicate the vibe in some fashion.” Slated to open sometime this November in Johannesburg, Palmer dealt with a whole different set of issues by opening a bar in a different country rather than just a different city. “You can’t say opening a gay place anywhere is easy,” he admits. “You really have to know the mood of the place you’re in. Not every country is tolerant, nor is their police force.” But Palmer is excited to bring his vision to South Africa and to help give the boys of Johannesburg a place to hang, just as he did for northern Manhattan. “People from all over come to [New York] with ideas and then transform them [into] something in their respective countries. I admire anyone who has taken that step and defied the odds.”
Taking on the world isn’t easy in the least, but if anyone can do it, certainly it’s New Yorkers, who for years have lead the world in trends from nightlife to fashion thanks to cutthroat competition and high standards. “The reason New York brands do well from the gate elsewhere is because there is so much competition here and New Yorkers are picky, fickle, spoiled and tough to please,” BabyCakes’ McKenna declares. “The upside is they are taste-makers and really get behind you if they love you, which helps spread the word.”
Yet figuring out exactly how to survive here may be the biggest feat of all. Black understands this mystery far too well. “mr.Black would never have been born in any other city in the world; it is a New York demon spawn,” he jokes, before adding seriously, “It is impossible for anyone to pin down exactly how to make it work. I still experience parties and people in New York and think, how did this happen? There is a lot being sold in the city, but if you dig deep you can find some gems that remain an absolute mystery to the rest of the world.” N
Visit MrBlackNYC.com, GymSportsbar.com, HereLounge.com, VladaLounge.com, LipsUsa.com, BabyCakesNYC.com, NoParkingBar.com for more info. |
