Assets in Atlanta The Big Peach’s eleven50 Club is Juicy Profit to the Pit
By Taylor Rau
It was a long flight from London, especially
after the recent tour in Tokyo, and the limo arriving at the tarmac as
the Citation X jet taxis in is a welcome sight to the DJ and his crew.
As they pile in for the next destination, the exhaustion among them is
all too evident. Bob Seger’s “Turn the Page” is heard briefly as one of
the crew scans the local Atlanta radio stations, and everyone shares a
knowing chuckle.
When a local Dance station comes on, it stays on, and as the House
beats bump through the limo’s speakers, scenery flashes by outside as
the sunset welcomes the night and its enticing possibilities for
genuine Hotlanta adventure. The pedestrian-head-turning Cadillac convoy
soon reaches its destination as dusk turns skyscrapers into white and
yellow Christmas trees overhead. Fatigue is forgotten.
As the entourage enters the back doors of the super club, a thousand
frenzied fans enrich the up-tempo atmosphere — the energy is as
electric as the upcoming play set and the strobe and wash light effects
are as colorful as the outfits of the trendy crowd working up sultry
sweat on the sprawling dance floor. It’s time. The DJ steps up to the
decks and takes charge, the crowd roars, and the journey into
late-night bliss begins. “Damn, it’s good to be home,” he thinks to
himself. “It’s good to be back at eleven50.”
Cliff Hoffman, general manager of this 28,000-square-foot facility,
couldn’t agree more. “Big DJs know this is the place to play in
Atlanta,” he says. John Digweed, Paul Oakenfold, Paul Van Dyke, Sander
Kleinenberg and DJ Tiesto all have graced the club’s hallowed booth,
but there is more to this success story than DJ talent alone.
'On
a busy night, as many as 15 bartenders will serve guests, with most
averaging between $2,220 and $3,000 in register sales in a
three-and-a-half-hour span — each.'
— Cliff Hoffman, general manager
Such Great Heights
Eleven50 was born four and a half years ago of lofty nightlife
entrepreneural ambitions –– a downtown destination for guests en masse
to let loose for a night out in the Jewel of the South. The formula
changed two and a half years ago, though, says Director of Operations
and Resident DJ Rachael Pryor, after competition, economics and fickle
clientele took the wind out of the venue’s sales. Eleven50’s owners and
operators then realized that more than a fresh coat of paint was needed
to turn financial shortcomings into rock-solid revenues.
The answer came in the form of Liquid Living, a Cleveland, Ohio-based
nightlife property company and the investment powerhouse needed to
poise eleven50 –– a club housed in a 1920s-era building that once was
the Peachtree Playhouse, a balconied opera house –– for a major
relaunch. Pryor says although the club’s physical enhancement and staff
restructuring were momentous, most of the pre-existing staff stayed on,
and the family atmosphere of their operations remained intact — it
simply became a corporate-backed club with a tight-knit environment.
The new venture into Atlanta for Liquid Living, owned by Michael
Schwartz and Terry Barbu, also was its first expansion out of
Cleveland, but Pryor says the benefit of their involvement (and Tim
Muir, a major investor) is undeniable.
The new corporate structure essentially condensed everyone’s
responsibilities, too, Pryor says, which freed up the staff of around
50 to concentrate on the finer details of operations and to look and
plan ahead.
Primed for all Parties
The layout of the club itself lends itself to hosting events on a grand
scale. Sweeping intelligent lighting is positioned strategically
throughout the club’s high terraced balconies and ceiling. In addition
to such interior innovations as its movable DJ booth, massive dance
floor (2,300 square feet), three separate sound systems for three
different rooms and music genres and bars capable of efficiently
pleasing a thousand guests in a night, eleven50 also functions as the
Atlanta Events Center via Eden, the venue’s large, landscaped open-air
courtyard replete with lounge areas, cabanas, terraces and the
occasional outdoor DJ booth. In the shadow of the towering Proscenium
building by day and under its soft glow by night, guests can be found
mingling outside, enjoying fresh breezes and cool cocktails. This
environment has proven ideal for sizable private and corporate parties,
which Pryor says typically bring in $1 million annually. Corporate
entities such as Camel, Coca-Cola and Playboy all have exited to Eden
under the careful attention of Sales and Special Events Director
Michelle Muessle. Of course, the in-house catering facilities and
services of Chef Brian Narag only help seal the deal.
But with eleven50 open seven days a week, the club is always a
playground, Pryor says. This especially is true on weekends, when
Friday nights are more mainstream with Hip-Hop and some Top 40 or
vocal-driven House tracks. Saturday nights are for more underground DJ
showcases. Outside promoters In Like Flynn provide the Friday talent,
marketing and advertising, while Liquified covers Saturdays.
Accordingly, Pryor says the promoters spend $6,000 to $10,000 on radio
spots frequently, and New Step Productions (who both promoters use)
assists with flyer distribution throughout metro Atlanta. E-mails from
a ballpark 30,000-person database also are sent out 2-3 times per week
in-house.
“There’s enough junk mail out there,” Pryor says. “I’d rather you see
our e-mail, get excited by the subject line — ooh, Fatboy Slim tonight!
Gosh, I forgot about that — open it up and click on the link to
purchase your tickets and bam, you’re done.”
With DJ talent costing the club’s operators between $5,000 and $18,000
per booking, it’s no easy feat keeping business steady, but
consistently it is, and guests of all demographics are supportive of
the club’s Electronic focus. This slant may go against the grain for
Atlanta today, but Hoffman says the setup of the venue — and the
marketing behind the niche — is such that it works well.“If you’re 23
today, you’ve never even been to a real rave.The young kids have been
sort of raised on Hip-Hop, so there’s a big trend moving toward
Hip-Hop, and we, sort of, are bucking that trend here.”
Given that those who are 18 now soon will be the 21-and-up loyals who
have been dying to blend in — or stand out, Pryor and Hoffman say the
cost is entirely worthwhile. “What we look for is to try to find DJs
that are popular, but not necessarily popular –– like everyone knows
who they are — popular. So, we have to look for different DJs that have
some appeal that people want to see, that aren’t necessarily the known
big names.”
DJs aren’t the only big names in the club, though. Jermaine Dupri,
Prince and Outkast work the crowds, or P. Diddy may throw a birthday
bash. Nelly and Usher can be seen wooing the women, and star-status
women such as Gwen Stefani often bring a little touch of Miami or
Hollywood to Atlanta.
In High Spirits
Celebrities aside, the VIP clientele at eleven50 are movers and shakers
in their own right. Pryor says she and VIP Host Maurice Huggins make
sure known VIPs are well taken care of, and they constantly meet and
greet old and new faces alike. Or, if guests are in lounge mode, bottle
service always is an appreciated amenity.
Of course, anyone can participate here if they’re willing to ante up —
Pryor says bottle service is hot in Atlanta right now and tabs may
range as high as $3,000. Business is just as brisk at the bar. On a
busy night, as many as 15 bartenders will serve guests, with most
averaging between $2,200 and $3,000 in register sales in a
three-and-a-half-hour span. The secret, Hoffman says, is in the
training, service speed and inventory. “We try to keep our selection
diverse but not gigantic.”
This translates into higher sales of Grey Goose, Bud Light and
Jägermeister, which Hoffman says is still hugely popular with Red Bull
or as a stand-alone shot. Patrón also is a hot shot of choice, he says.
Corona, Heineken and Amstel Light also are top sellers, and Guinness
recently was brought in to round out the roster. As an example of
eleven50’s volume, Hoffman says on a recently good weekend, the bar
went through 30 cases of Red Bull, 30 cases of bottled water, 30
bottles of wine, 75 cases of beer and an astounding 316 bottles of
liquor.
By day, Hoffman says operations are a matter of knocking out the daily
to-do list, but by night it’s all about selling a good time to all. And
in the Atlanta market today, everyone seems to be buying.“It’s really
exciting to know the atmosphere you create is appreciated by the small
guy and the big guy on the totem pole, and every one of them just
remembers it as their greatest memories or their best nights going out,
and that makes it all worthwhile,” Pryor says. NCB
Unconventional Wisdom
By
any stretch of the imagination, Atlanta’s eleven50 nightclub and events
center is no run-of-the-mill operation. It has a corporate structure
and bucks current music trends with its slant toward Electronic music,
but guests love it and have the time of their lives. Sometimes, though,
inevitably, a guest won’t have a good night. Perhaps they had a bad day
at work, maybe had a spat with the girlfriend, or somebody accidentally
bumped them too hard on the dance floor, bruising an ego if not a
shoulder. It’s part of the club business, sure, but this is where
eleven50’s operational prowess really comes into play.
Under the guidance of Head of Security Mark Belknap, the club’s
in-house security deals with problem patrons in an unconventionally
wise way. When a guest causes a disturbance, he or she is politely
asked to step outside to talk through the issue (an excuse could be
that the music is too loud inside to effectively resolve the situation,
says Director of Operations Rachael Pryor). Once outside, the patron is
out of the club pending a determination of what happened, and if the
guest is in the wrong, then he or she is out for the night. Rather than
be harsh or rude, though, security by way of management will offer the
guest in question free passes to a future promotion or music event, not
only calming them down and compromising, but ensuring that they gain
respect for the way the club staff handled the situation and ensuring
that they return for another night of revelry with a better
disposition.
Assets in Atlanta
