International Homage
    “The Walnut Room doesn’t have a sign. We never had any kind of street presence,” Co-owner Joe Beckham says. “We went specifically for the urban crowd to get the people who live down here, work down here, go out down here.”
    While he might have shied away from a street presence, his street credit became known quickly in the local circles of lounge nightlife. The design is one of the appealing aspects into which Beckham and his partner Giancarlo DiPasquale placed the appropriate amount of effort. The gentlemen, who also own the downstairs restaurant Alfa, were helped by being worldly themselves, researching the Lonsdale House in London for inspiration on what would become the finalized main room and somewhat smaller/quieter front room. Drinks such as the Rose Petal Martini –– gin, lime juice, Champagne, bitters and rose syrup –– carry garnishes of fresh cut orchids, making them a hybrid of libation/decoration when placed atop the sculptural concrete bar or clasped in the hands of guests lounging on curving red banquettes against the wall.
    While there is minimal hassle about the 150-capacity space, it is not to be confused with minimal energy. One of the owner’s wisest choices in design was the DJ booth’s centralized milieu.
    “I always knew we were going to do a very music forward venue,” Beckham says. “I hadn’t really had a ton of experience with the DJ scene, but I had good information that that was where you had to put your main focus. So I set up the DJ booth right near the dance floor, but kind of elevated. It is a good layout for a DJ in so far that they have a lot of presence with the crowd.”
    Beckham admits that he now prefers the nightclub/lounge atmosphere to the restaurant business.“
    My favorite part,” he says, “is standing at the back stairs and watching the dance floor and watching everyone have a good time.”

Tapering the Target Market
    “When people eat, they can have a terrible time, and you can ask them if they are having a good time, and they will say ‘yes.’ Then, when they walk out, all they will talk about is what a terrible time they had. “
    In the club business, it is not the same thing. You can read on someone’s face whether or not they are having a good time. It is very easy thing to detect.”
    With New York’s temptation breathing down it’s slender neck, the city of Philadelphia — specifically the nightlife segment — has got a David and Goliath battle on a daily basis. Talent often moves out of the city of brotherly love for the romance just down the road, and the nightlife dollars available hardly stack up when compared with the Big Apple. Beckham and DiPasquale have excelled by narrowing their target market, minimalizing advertising and using offbeat promos. “
    We reached out to bar and restaurant industry and the sort of style industries –– music, hair salons, fashion. We tried to get those people who set the trends for an urban area,” Beckham says.“
    When we started, I think we were very successful. It is the kind of club where if you lived outside of the city, you didn’t know about us, and that was fine with me. “
    I suppose it sounds like elitism, but what it is really about is, if you are too easy as a new club, it is almost a dating dynamic. You don’t want to look like you are too hungry for customers, or you are not desirable.”

Weeknight Highlights
    A diverse menagerie of races, occupations, interests and music styles, the typical regulars can be found at Walnut Room during the weekdays more than the weekends. Wednesdays, Beckham and the staff host DJ Brendan who does a Hip-Hop/Soul medley, exchanging songs almost constantly.
    “Brendan’s thing is that he will go literally hook to hook to hook,” Beckham says. “You can hardly see him past the records stacked up.”
    Other promotions include a new Roots Reggae party on Sundays, and every blue moon, the favorites turn out for Hot Pursuit, a party whose name is derived from the chase scene soundtracks of the old “Starsky and Hutch” episodes, with the staff decked out in vintage garb.
    The genius behind the promotions comes partly from Beckham’s selection in staff. Two of his employees are well known promoters in the area under a group that calls themselves The Bawdy Girls, playing to Philly’s friskier, sultrier side in entertainment, as well as working with the well-connected Rachel Furman of Rachel Inc.“
    There are only a few promoters in the city that we actually work with,” Beckham says. “We really try to maintain a lot of connections personally. We work with the people that we would want to hang out with.”                            NCB