LET'S give our regards to Broadway, because it's never gonna be the same. And that's a good thing.
Thanks to the new Broadway Bar, the latest confection from owner Cedd Moses and designer Ricki Kline -- key members of the team behind the nearby Golden Gopher -- downtown is finally getting its shot as a destination spot for night crawlers.
Again.
Back in the 1980s, downtown L.A. was a hub of night-life activity, with Hollywood and Eastside hipsters arriving in packs to prowl such venues as Al's Bar, Gorky's, the Atomic Cafe and the original incarnations of Vertigo and Stock Exchange.
Then came the 1992 riots, and poof, the lights went out on Broadway, as they did all over L.A. -- including the now-hopping downtown Hollywood, which was DOA in the early and mid-'90s.
"Downtown is a lot like Hollywood a decade ago," says Moses, who co-owns Broadway Bar with former New York nightclub impresario Joe Baxley. "I think some people need an alternative to the new over-hyped Hollywood scene. Our crowd isn't drawn by seeing celebrities -- they're not hoping to get with Paris Hilton. It's people who want the urban vibe without any of the hassle."
The biggest perks: front-row street parking, free venue parking and no cover charges. And just like Hollywood in, say, '93, it's just you and the denizens of the streets. And for whatever reason, these separate worlds don't seem to collide too much. (Although some clubbers make a point of taking a cab when bar-hopping to the Gopher a couple of blocks away.)
Broadway Bar boasts an enormous neon sign -- the biggest we've seen this side of Vegas -- as a calling card for its glamorous aesthetic. Picture a supper club without the supper. The bilevel, 4,000-square-foot place glistens with opulent chandeliers and lotus flower lighting fixtures. Carpeting in a faux-Versace style gives it a faintly regal air. An upstairs balcony invites you to check out the bright lights, big city that is downtown.
"Let's face it, a drink's a drink wherever you go," Kline says. "We wanna give them an experience."
"I feel like I'm at a bar in Paris," says Ariel Vareassal, an art student hanging out at the bar on a recent Thursday. "The design is so inspired."
And really, it's exactly what a downtown bar should be like on Broadway in 2005: gorgeous, plush, spacious, a tad Gothic and buzzing with nightly activity. The venue -- in a former print shop and stationery store -- opens at 5 p.m. most evenings to serve downtown's business class. Then comes the hip, late-night art crowd.
