No Vacancy Lounge

Last updated

No Vacancy Lounge
No Vacancy Lounge logo.png
Logo
No Vacancy Lounge, Portland, Oregon, 2019 - 01.jpg
Entrance to the venue, 2019
Downtown Portland.png
Red pog.svg
No Vacancy Lounge
Location within Portland, Oregon
Address235 Southwest 1st Avenue
Location Portland, Oregon, U.S.
Coordinates 45°31′14″N122°40′20″W / 45.5206°N 122.6722°W / 45.5206; -122.6722 Coordinates: 45°31′14″N122°40′20″W / 45.5206°N 122.6722°W / 45.5206; -122.6722
Owner
  • Nitin Khanna
  • Rick Sheinin
  • Billy Vinton
  • Jessey Zepeda
Type
Capacity 350
Opened2017 (2017)
ClosedFebruary 19, 2019

No Vacancy Lounge (NVL) was a short-lived nightclub in Portland, Oregon's Old Town Chinatown neighborhood, in the United States. "No Vacancy" began in 2014 as a party hosted at various local venues. NVL opened in a former McCormick & Schmick's restaurant December 2017, following an approximately $1 million renovation. The venue was named Willamette Week 's 2018 Bar of the Year. The club hosted a variety of acts and events but was most known for electronic dance music (EDM). Conflict between NVL, a neighboring tenant, and the property manager began almost immediately. In February 2019, the bar closed as the result of the dispute and financial difficulties; some scheduled events were moved to other venues.

Contents

Description and history

Prior to the nightclub's opening, No Vacancy was a party held at the FOMO Media offices in northwest Portland, beginning in 2014. The party's success allowed co-founders Rick Sheinin (who worked at FOMO Media at the time) and Billy Vinton, along with partners Nitin Khanna and Jessey Zepeda, to host No Vacancy at other venues, including Doug Fir Lounge, Holocene, and Produce Row. [1] Lake Oswego Review 's Sam Stites described the four men as "innovators" seeking to "raise the bar in Portland nightlife". [2]

Sheinin, Vinton, and partners opened No Vacancy Lounge (NVL) in December 2017, in the ground floor of the Henry Failing Building, in downtown Portland's Old Town Chinatown neighborhood. [1] The building was previously occupied by a McCormick & Schmick's restaurant. According to the Portland Mercury , the owners "oversaw a dramatic redesign of the wood-paneled restaurant into a modern 350-person-capacity nightclub that attracted top talent [and] drew large crowds", [3] at a cost of approximately $1 million. [4] The interior featured "elegantly designed" Art Deco details and high tech production equipment. [2] [5] Writing for Willamette Week , Matthew Korfhage said: "The mezzanined space [looked] like Jay-Z's vision of the Great Gatsby, an amber-lit world of deco lamps, columned archways and backlit liquor that climbs to the ceiling", with "a massive amount of programmable lights, a dramatically lit second-story DJ booth and smoke machines both inside and outside the DJ area". [6]

Two weeks after opening, property owners attempted to terminate NVL's lease because of noise complaints made by the upstairs tenant, the architecture firm Walker Macy. [7] Conflict between NVL, Melvin Mark Properties, and Walker Macy continued for as long as the nightclub operated. [3] [7] In February 2019, the club confirmed plans to close as the result of financial difficulties and the ongoing dispute. [3] [7] The co-owners have said No Vacancy "might return to its original state as a pop-up party series". [4]

Events

NVL hosted a variety of acts and events. Performers included hip-hop disc jockey and producer DJ Nu-Mark, [8] house music DJ Donald Glaude, [9] the electronic music duos Dusky and Eli & Fur, [10] [11] Le Youth, [12] BlackGummy, [13] Zach Carothers of Portugal. The Man, [14] and Canadian EDM DJ Shaun Frank. [15] A-Trak and RJD2 performed as part of the bar's first anniversary celebration. [10]

Special events included the "Pan-African Gala" commemorating Black History Month, which saw Ndaba Mandela pay tribute to his grandfather Nelson Mandela, [16] a "420 Celebration" with "electro soul-funk" music, [17] and a gay pride event featuring local EDM DJs called "Møthership: Planet LGBTQA". [18] NVL also hosted a 1990s music dance party and a "celebration of life" for Vinton's father, Will Vinton. [19] [20] In 2018, the venue hosted the sixteenth annual Bollywood Halloween dance party, [21] [22] a concert featuring local hip-hop artists, [23] [24] and a Gatsby-themed New Year's Eve celebration. [25] In 2019, NVL held "Love Sucks: An Emo Valentine's Day", a Valentine's Day dance event featuring "pop, punk, alternative, and emo classics". [26] For their final event in the Henry Failing Building, NVL hosted a free party on February 19, 2019. [3] [7] NVL planned to host events scheduled prior to their closure announcement at other venues. [3]

Reception

NVL was named Willamette Week's 2018 Portland Bar of the Year based on a survey focusing on new establishments. [27] The newspaper said the venue "strikes a careful balance between timeless glamor and a futuristic Technicolor utopia", [27] and called NVL "the most ambitious DJ-forward dance club Portland's seen in years". [6] [7] Willamette Week writers also suggested the interior was reminiscent of The Great Gatsby. [5] [6] Sam Stites of the Lake Oswego Review said the venue opened "to rave reviews and a consistently packed house", and "[filled] a nightlife void". [2] Stites called NVL "a fresh take on the tired nightclub motif" and wrote, "Step inside No Vacancy Lounge and you might feel as if you've gone back in time and traveled to the future all at once." [2] Jenna Swanberg of Dance Music Northwest said NVL's closure was "devastating for us to hear, as the venue did everything right for their attendees and were selling out weekend after weekend". She wrote:

No Vacancy Lounge always had great energy, bringing in some of the biggest names in house music, providing music lovers, bar jumpers, or dance enthusiasts a safe place to spend their night... So thank you No Vacancy Lounge for bringing something different to Portland. Thank you for bringing a new energy to a city. Thank you for the unforgettable nights spent on the dance floor. We hope the energy continues to the next big idea. [28]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Jefferson Dancers</span> Performance group at Jefferson High School in Portland, USA

The Jefferson Dancers is the performance group of advanced students from the magnet arts dance program at Jefferson High School in Portland, Oregon, United States. The company was founded by Mary Vinton Folberg in the early 1980s. Folberg served as artistic director of the dance company from its founding until the mid-1990s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">CC Slaughters</span> Pair of gay bars and nightclubs in Portland, Oregon and Puerto Vallarta, Mexico

CC Slaughters is a gay bar and nightclub located in Portland, Oregon, and Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. The Portland bar is located in the Old Town Chinatown neighborhood, and the Puerto Vallarta bar is located in Zona Romántica.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roseland Theater</span> Music venue in Portland, Oregon, U.S.

The Roseland Theater, sometimes called the Roseland Theater and Grill, is a music venue located at 8 Northwest Sixth Avenue in the Old Town Chinatown neighborhood of Portland, Oregon, in the United States. The building was originally a church, constructed by the Apostolic Faith Church in 1922. In 1982, Larry Hurwitz converted the building to a music venue called Starry Night. In 1990, the club's 21-year-old publicity agent was murdered in one of the theater's hallways; Hurwitz was convicted for this murder ten years later. Hurwitz sold the club in 1991, claiming he had lost support from the local music industry. The venue was given its current name during the 1991 ownership transfer. During the 1990s, Double Tee acquired control of the hall's operations, then purchased and renovated the building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gypsy Restaurant and Velvet Lounge</span> Defunct restaurant and nightclub in Portland, Oregon, U.S.

The Gypsy Restaurant and Velvet Lounge was a restaurant and nightclub established in 1947 and located along Northwest 21st Avenue in the Northwest District neighborhood of Portland, Oregon, in the United States. Popular with young adults, the restaurant was known for serving fishbowl alcoholic beverages, for its 1950s furnishings, and for hosting karaoke, trivia competitions and goldfish racing tournaments. The restaurant is said to have influenced local alcohol policies; noise complaints and signs of drunken behavior by patrons made the business a target for curfews and closure. Concept Entertainment owned the restaurant from 1992 until 2014, when it was closed unexpectedly.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Embers Avenue</span> Defunct gay bar and nightclub in Portland, Oregon, U.S.

The Embers Avenue, also known as Embers, was a gay bar and nightclub located in the Old Town Chinatown neighborhood of Portland, Oregon, in the United States. Embers hosted a variety of events, including comedy and drag shows, karaoke, and live music. The club opened in 1969, and closed in late 2017. The Oregonian reported in late November 2017 that the building owner has intentions to fill the space with a similar venue. It was speculated in January 2018 that Badlands was expected to open that year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">LGBT culture in Portland, Oregon</span>

LGBT culture in Portland, Oregon is an important part of Pacific Northwest culture.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paris Theatre (Portland, Oregon)</span> Historic building in Portland, Oregon, U.S.

Paris Theatre, formerly Third Avenue Theatre and also known as Paris Theater or Ray's Paris Theatre, is an historic building in Portland, Oregon's Old Town Chinatown neighborhood, in the United States. The theatre was constructed in 1890 and opened as a burlesque house. It was later converted to a cinema, then a club and music venue, before serving as an adult movie theater until 2016. The building was a live venue and nightclub until it closed in October 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stag PDX</span> Nightclub and strip club in Portland, Oregon, U.S.

Stag PDX, or simply Stag, is a gay-owned nightclub and strip club in Portland, Oregon's Pearl District, in the United States. The club opened in May 2015 as the second all-nude gay strip club on the West Coast.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Red Cap Garage</span> Defunct gay bar and nightclub in Portland, Oregon, U.S.

Red Cap Garage, sometimes abridged as Red Cap, was a gay bar and nightclub that operated in Portland, Oregon from 1987 to 2012. The bar was connected to two others called Boxxes and the Brig. It hosted drag queen shows, live music, special events, and viewing parties. In 2012, the bar was sold and closed after operating for 25 years, and the building which housed Red Cap was gutted to make way for the retail alley known as Union Way.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tonic Lounge</span> Defunct bar and music venue in Portland, Oregon, U.S.

Tonic Lounge was a bar and music venue located at 3100 Northeast Sandy Blvd., in Portland, Oregon's Kerns neighborhood.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Holocene (Portland, Oregon)</span> Music venue and nightclub in Portland, Oregon

Holocene is a music venue and nightclub in the Buckman neighborhood of Portland, Oregon, in the United States. The venue, which opened in June 2003, is a former auto-parts warehouse with an industrial, modern interior. Holocene hosts a variety of events, and was named the city's "Best Place to Dance" by Willamette Week readers in 2017.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spare Room Restaurant and Lounge</span> Restaurant in Portland, Oregon, U.S.

Spare Room Restaurant and Lounge, or simply The Spare Room, is a restaurant and entertainment venue in northeast Portland, Oregon, United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">World Famous Kenton Club</span>

The World Famous Kenton Club, or simply Kenton Club, is a bar and music venue in north Portland, Oregon, United States. The venue was established as the Kenton Club in 1947, and became a biker bar. The "world famous" tagline was acquired after appearing in the film Kansas City Bomber (1972); the venue became known as World Famous Kenton Club, and memorabilia related to the film and its star Raquel Welch are displayed throughout the interior.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barbarella (Portland, Oregon)</span> Nightclub in Portland, Oregon, U.S.

Barbarella is a nightclub in Portland, Oregon's Old Town Chinatown, in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brix Tavern</span> Restaurant in Portland, Oregon, U.S.

Brix Tavern is a restaurant in Portland, Oregon's Pearl District, in the United States, that serves American cuisine. The 150-seat restaurant was opened in April 2011 by Urban Restaurant Group and offers a menu that includes wood-fired pizzas, rotisserie meats, and other comfort foods. Brix has hosted and participated in special events, and has received a generally positive reception; compliments are most often given for happy hour menu options.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Liquor Store</span> Defunct bar and restaurant in Portland, Oregon, US

The Liquor Store was a bar, restaurant, and music venue in Portland, Oregon. Established in 2015, the business operated in a space previously occupied by the Blue Monk, a jazz club and restaurant, in southeast Portland's Sunnyside neighborhood. It was named the city's best new bar in Willamette Week's annual readers' poll in 2015 and 2016. The Liquor Store's upstairs had a bar and the owner's large vinyl record collection on display. The downstairs venue hosted live music and disc jockeys, playing a variety of genres, especially electronic music. The Liquor Store closed temporarily in March 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and two former employees filed a lawsuit claiming sexual harassment one month later. Sometimes confused for an actual liquor store, The Liquor Store closed permanently in September 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rontoms</span> Bar in Portland, Oregon, U.S.

Rontoms is a bar in Portland, Oregon. It opened along East Burnside Street, in southeast Portland's Buckman neighborhood, in November 2006.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Local Lounge</span> Defunct gay bar in Portland, Oregon, U.S.

Local Lounge was a gay bar in Portland, Oregon, operating from 2010 to 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">DJ Anjali and the Incredible Kid</span> American DJ duo

DJ Anjali & The Incredible Kid is an American DJ duo, formed in 2000 in Portland, Oregon. The duo consists of Anjali Hursh and Stephen Strausbaugh. In addition to appearing at various venues in Portland's nightclub scene, the act has performed in numerous music festivals and resident nights including Sasquatch! Music Festival and Basement Bhangra and is credited with helping to bring South Asian and Latin dance music to the club scene in Portland and the greater Pacific Northwest. Together they host Tropitaal, a "Desi-Latino Soundclash" and Andaz, the longest-running Bhangra and Bollywood dance party in the United States. The duo was awarded first place in the "Best DJ" category of "Best of Portland" by Willamette Week readers in 2016 and 2017.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coffin Club</span> Bar in Portland, Oregon, U.S.

The Coffin Club, formerly Lovecraft Bar, is a horror-themed, LGBT-friendly bar in Portland, Oregon.

References

  1. 1 2 Cottell, Pete (May 22, 2018). "No Vacancy Lounge Is the Most Ambitious Club Experience the Rose City Has Seen in Years". Willamette Week . City of Roses Newspapers. Archived from the original on February 20, 2019. Retrieved February 19, 2019.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Stites, Sam (April 12, 2018). "No Vacancy fills a nightlife void". Lake Oswego Review . Pamplin Media Group. ISSN   0889-2369. OCLC   13819679. Archived from the original on April 6, 2019. Retrieved April 6, 2019.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Lannamann, Ned (February 14, 2019). "Downtown Nightclub No Vacancy Lounge Announces Closure Due to Conflict with Property Management Company Melvin Mark". Portland Mercury . Index Publishing. Archived from the original on February 20, 2019. Retrieved February 19, 2019.
  4. 1 2 Frane, Alex (February 15, 2019). "Downtown Club and Cocktail Bar No Vacancy Is Shutting Down Next Week". Eater Portland . Vox Media. Archived from the original on February 20, 2019. Retrieved February 19, 2019.
  5. 1 2 "The Top Five Places to Drink This Week". Willamette Week. January 17, 2018. Archived from the original on April 8, 2019. Retrieved April 7, 2019.
  6. 1 2 3 Korfhage, Matthew (January 24, 2018). "No Vacancy Is the Most Ambitious DJ-Forward Dance Club Portland Has Seen in Years". Willamette Week. Archived from the original on April 7, 2019. Retrieved April 6, 2019.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 Singer, Matthew (February 18, 2019). "No Vacancy, WW's 2018 Bar of the Year, Will Close Permanently This Week Following Legal Dispute with Its Landlord". Willamette Week. Archived from the original on February 19, 2019. Retrieved February 19, 2019.
  8. ↑ "The 33 Best Things to Do in Portland This Weekend: Jun 1–3". Portland Mercury. May 31, 2018. Retrieved April 6, 2019.
  9. ↑ "Donald Glaude". Portland Mercury. Retrieved April 6, 2019.
  10. 1 2 Hunt, Ryan (October 10, 2018). "Fall 2018 Pacific Northwest Event Guide". Dance Music Northwest. Archived from the original on April 8, 2019. Retrieved April 7, 2019.
  11. ↑ "Eli & Fur". Portland Mercury. Retrieved April 6, 2019.
  12. ↑ Swanbergon, Jenna (July 13, 2018). "Le Youth is Heading to One of Our Favorite Portland Venues, No Vacancy Lounge". Dance Music Northwest. Archived from the original on April 8, 2019. Retrieved April 7, 2019.
  13. ↑ Claringbold, C. J. (September 11, 2018). "Events Calendar Sept. 11–17". Daily Vanguard . Portland State University. Archived from the original on April 11, 2019. Retrieved April 7, 2019.
  14. ↑ "A Ramen and Whisky Festival, Laura Gibson and 9 Other Things to Do and See in Portland Oct. 31–Nov. 5". Willamette Week. October 30, 2018. Archived from the original on April 6, 2019. Retrieved April 6, 2019.
  15. ↑ Hunton, Ryan (December 3, 2018). "Louis the Child Take Over Portland with Three Shows in Two Days (DMNW Review)". Dance Music Northwest. Archived from the original on April 7, 2019. Retrieved April 6, 2019.
  16. ↑ "Pan-African Gala: Mandela's Legacy". Portland Mercury. Retrieved April 6, 2019.
  17. ↑ Singer, Matthew (April 17, 2018). "A Guide to 420 Events in Portland". Willamette Week. Archived from the original on April 8, 2019. Retrieved April 7, 2019.
  18. ↑ "Møthership: Planet LGBTQA". Portland Mercury. Retrieved April 6, 2019.
  19. ↑ "'90s Dance Party". Portland Mercury. Retrieved April 6, 2019.
  20. ↑ Rogoway, Mike (October 4, 2018). "Will Vinton, Oscar winner and pioneering Portland animator, dies at age 70". The Oregonian . Advance Publications. ISSN   8750-1317. Archived from the original on July 19, 2019. Retrieved April 6, 2019.
  21. ↑ "Haunted Houses and Spooky Dance Parties to Plan Your Halloween Around". Willamette Week. October 23, 2018. Archived from the original on April 6, 2019. Retrieved April 6, 2019.
  22. ↑ "The 38 Best Things to Do in Portland This Weekend: Oct 26–28". Portland Mercury. October 25, 2018. Archived from the original on March 29, 2019. Retrieved April 6, 2019.
  23. ↑ Moore, Jenni (December 21, 2018). "EOY Hip-Hop Happenings: Six Local Shows Worth Stepping Out For". Portland Mercury. Archived from the original on April 7, 2019. Retrieved April 6, 2019.
  24. ↑ "The 22 Best Things to Do in Portland This Weekend: Dec 28–30". Portland Mercury. December 27, 2018. Retrieved April 6, 2019.
  25. ↑ Swanbergon, Jenna (December 23, 2018). "What to Do on New Years Eve in the Northwest". Dance Music Northwest. Archived from the original on April 6, 2019. Retrieved April 6, 2019.
  26. ↑ "The 13 Best Things to Do This Valentine's Day!". Portland Mercury. February 11, 2019. Retrieved April 6, 2019.
  27. 1 2 "A Survey of the Things WW Has Officially Declared "The Best" in the Past Year". Willamette Week. July 10, 2018. Archived from the original on April 8, 2019. Retrieved April 6, 2019.
  28. ↑ Swanbergon, Jenna (March 8, 2019). "Portland's No Vacancy Lounge Closes Its Doors For Good". Dance Music Northwest. Archived from the original on April 8, 2019. Retrieved April 7, 2019.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.