A party house to call home

NIGHTLIFE impresarios Sam Nazarian and Brent Bolthouse unveiled AREA, the latest enterprise in their string of L.A. hot spots, last Thursday with an invitation-only affair that brought out the likes of Jessica Simpson, Avril Lavigne, Dave Navarro, Sharon Stone, Elisha Cuthbert and brothers Jared and Shannon Leto of 30 Seconds to Mars.

The star-studded soiree seemed a fitting intro to the building, on La Cienega Boulevard near Melrose, that once housed the Gate and Prey. It has been remodeled to resemble a home from 1950s Hollywood (imagine a spot where Frank and Dino would’ve been happy to hang their fedoras). Utilizing the building’s flat roof and low ceilings, the club has come out of its past darkness with glass walls that give an open-air feeling, stylish Warholian wallpaper, couches in the main foyer, multiple patios for smoking and booths.

“Everybody loves a house party, so I really wanted to embellish a residential feel, the California dream that they all talked about in the ’50s,” Bolthouse said. “That was the design concept.”

AREA also offers a service that SBE Entertainment’s Reza Roohi says is one of a kind. “We’re going to do tableside bartending service, so they’re going to be getting a variety of drinks, from blueberry martinis to watermelon mojitos, whatever they really want,” Roohi said. “We roll out an actual cart to your table.”

Although the tableside service – for which Roohi said the club will employ 22 bartenders per night for the 20 tables – wasn’t in effect the first night, it is expected to be in full swing when the club begins its normal Thursday through Saturday schedule this week. That will expand next week to include Tuesday nights.

As for the staggered start, Roohi said, “We want to make sure we go slowly, try to get all the kinks out before we get started. We want to be really ready for it.”

weekend@latimes.com