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Spring, 2005
 Content: • Analyzing the club scene
The area club scene is as varied as its diverse constituencies. According to four of the owners of some of the Berkshires' more popular nightclubs, to remain viable you must balance your own vision with the ever-changing whims of the patrons. It is a daunting and delicate task. "Clientele in these places shift" said Gringo's owner Dave Nicholas. "In order to stay in business you have to move with the trends." The former Stockbridge restaurateur built Gringo's in North Adams from the ground up 16 years ago -- a virtual eternity in the field. Nicholas has been able to keep his head above the treacherous waters by knowing when to hold 'em and when to fold ‘em. At the outset, Gringo's drew customers with open mikes and singer-songwriter acts in its small lounge in the North Adams Plaza on Curran Highway (Route 8). "It wore out after a while. It didn't seem to work as well in the past," Nicholas said. Looking for new opportunities to expand his base, Nicholas eventually purchased the pool hall next door and turned it into a banquet hall/ nightclub. Seven years ago, Nicholas plunged into a venture that went counter to the prevailing nightlife trends. "Karaoke was on the down-slide, but a buddy of mine brought it to me and I said, 'What the heck I'll give it a try,’ " he said in an e-mail interview. “If it works, it works. Lo and behold, it has worked very well for us and is now the longest running show in the area, drawing people from all over -- South County, locally, and Vermont. Frankly, I’m surprised." New ownership Newcomers Darren O'Brien and Bob North took over Pittsfield’s La Cocina just a few months ago with a plan to reinvigorate the Wahconah Street club by going back to its musical roots. They hope to entertain their diverse clientele with national and regional bands with a focus on original, invigorating sounds. O'Brien, a musician, sound designer and Web site developer, knows a little bit about music and marketing. He also believes he understands what should work at the bi-level La Cocina, having been a longtime customer, and what went wrong with the previous ownership. "They booked the same bands constantly and went away from jam band stuff, jazz, reggae," said O'Brien. "I want to bring it to its original sound, which is original, upbeat fun." O'Brien retooled the downstairs from a sports bar to a place devoted to a musical decor, with guitars on the walls and five TVs showing the band that is playing upstairs. On occasion, newer acts will perform downstairs between sets of the more popular bands playing above. When the club starts jelling, O'Brien expects to see dreadlocked hippies, straight-laced college types and middle-age regulars mixing amiably. Rick Abdalla purchased Bogie's in Great Barrington 11 years ago and breathed some new life into a Route 7 building and business that was completely run down. "We saw the potential immediately and refurbished the entire building," Abdalla said. "Our ability to provide the people with flawless service and food accommodations allowed us to look further into the entertainment aspect of the business. "Back in that day, the entertainment field wasn't exactly flourishing and we took full advantage of the newness, supporting local bands with crowds as big as 300 people." To oblige the eclectic entertainment tastes of Berkshire residents and visitors, Abdalla decided to offer a range of options under the same roof. "There are so many trends and different types of people to support, even in a small town, you really have to appeal to them all," Abdalla said. "Because we have the largest dance floor and the ability to have sound in several different rooms, we can go from line dance in our fire-lit red room, to a classic night of rock or jazz in our lounge. "I look around these days and see people from Southern Berkshire County, New York and Connecticut, and whether they are in their 20s 30s or 40s, there's music and talent for everyone and we provide it for them all." Club Helsinki and its co-owners Marc Schafler and Deborah McDowell started with a tea room, expanded into a full service restaurant, then annexed the building adjacent to the restaurant to create a club that lures an array of national and international acts of every conceivable genre. "We began presenting entertainment in our club and café nearly 11 years when we opened Helsinki Tea Company and Cafe," explained McDowell. "We first opened our doors when the parking lot outside was gravel and the [Triplex Cinema] that stands across was a tumbledown roller rink." McDowell's grandfather ran the Hotel Helsinki in Finland. She comes from a family involved in the arts. "I worked in the theater for a long time as well. Marc was born in Great Barrington. He and his family ran a children's camp on the edge of the Borscht Belt back in the day. They hosted lots of entertainment from the l940s on. Marc came out of that sort of atmosphere." Their vision has begun to move past the walls of their smallish club to booking the likes of Steve Earle to the revitalized Berkshire Music Hall in Pittsfield, Dar Williams and Shawn Colvin to the First United Methodist Church, also in Pittsfield, and the Blind Boys of Alabama to the Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center in Great Barrington. "Never in my wildest imagination did I think it would grow to this," Schafler told The Eagle on the eve of the club's fifth anniversary. Success can be exceedingly fleeting in the nightclub business. Sustaining viability requires some luck and pluck, vision and flexibility, and most importantly, an open ear. "When I'm training my staff, I tell them repeatedly that the regular customers are ultimately the boss," said Nicholas, "that you really have to listen to them." Abdalla concurred. "Our key is that we listen to what they want, we consistently provide what works and we don't let anything set us back when it doesn’t. It’s a constant learning experience."  RETURN TO TOP |
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