Later Hours Are Music to Clubs' Ears

By David Nakamura and Nikita Stewart
Washington Post Staff Writers
Sunday, December 7, 2008

D.C. nightlife impresario Marc Barnes was recently offered $20,000 for private use of the Park at 14th, his popular dance club in downtown Washington, during the week of President-elect Barack Obama's inauguration.

He scoffed. And, now that the city has passed an emergency law extending the hours bars and nightclubs can serve alcohol between Jan. 17 and 21, he's in for a lot more money. He estimates moving 1,500 people through the luxurious four-story Park at $100 a head and calculates raking in $150,000 a night -- not including food and alcohol.

But that's chump change compared with what he might make at Love, his mega-club in Northeast with a hot tub on the roof and a cellar that can hold $300,000 worth of liquor. Barnes expects that 3,500 people will circulate inside and another 3,500 through a tent in the parking lot, with revenue topping $700,000 a night.

"This is our Christmas," quipped Barnes, who is said to be pursuing musicians including Beyoncé, Jay-Z and Diddy, all of whom have performed in his clubs.

With record crowds expected in the District for inauguration week, Barnes and other nightlife moguls are taking a cue from Prince and preparing to party like it's 1999 -- when money flowed and there was no financial crisis. And make no mistake: The profit potential for politically connected business owners is the primary reason the D.C. Council opened the door to round-the-clock revelry last week despite cries from residents that the extended hours could mean trouble.

"In an economy where people are struggling, why not throw them a bone?" said council member Jack Evans (D-Ward 2), who represents the area the Park is in, near 14th and K streets NW. Evans was recently reelected to a fifth term and is one of several council members who receive campaign cash from Barnes and hold their parties at his establishments.

"At the end of the day, as with many things, let's give it a try and see what happens," Evans said. "Nobody knows the answer. If we try it and it doesn't work, we won't do it again. But, overall, the benefits of doing this outweigh the drawbacks."

Others aren't so sure. Mayor Adrian M. Fenty (D) objected to including the city's 48 nightclubs in the extended hours, which allow establishments with liquor licenses to stay open 24 hours and serve alcohol till 5 a.m. Although he wanted to limit the move to bars, he said he will sign the legislation. The D.C. police union chief has questioned whether the city will be able to provide enough security, even with thousands of out-of-town officers expected to help on the inaugural parade route and at official events. And Metro officials have not agreed to run trains past 3 a.m. on the weekend and 2 a.m. on inauguration night.

Civic leaders in such nightlife-oriented neighborhoods as Adams Morgan, the U Street corridor and Georgetown have warned of increased crime, traffic, noise and lewd behavior. Several years ago at Barnes's Love, then known as Dream, there was a spate of beatings, a double stabbing on the dance floor and an armed robbery of a patron.

"It's crazy," said Audrey Ray, outgoing president of the Ivy City civic association, which has complained to the city about Love. "There's nothing you can do against the insanity of the nightclubs. I'm so sick of this."

Barnes, 45, who has operated clubs in the District for 20 years, said fears of out-of-control crowds pouring out of his establishments are misguided. People party in shifts and go home when they're tired, he and other club owners said. In Minneapolis and St. Paul, eight bars took advantage of a law that allowed them to stay open two extra hours, until 4 a.m., during the Republican National Convention over the summer, with few problems reported.

"They do it in New York every day," Barnes said. "They do it in Vegas every day, in Miami, in New Orleans."

But the scale of inauguration week is expected to be bigger than that of any event the District has staged, with Fenty saying that officials are preparing for upwards of 4 million people.

Even Barnes said it is impossible to get a sense of what the scene will be like, although a glimpse inside the Park last Thursday, traditionally the busiest night of the week for the club, offered some clues.

The Park is a more upscale club, with an older, more professional clientele, than a spot for the masses such as Love. Amid the cozy mahogany walls and bright holiday ornaments hanging from the ceilings, people danced to hip-hop jams spun by two DJs on separate floors. Fifty members of Alpha Phi Alpha were celebrating the fraternity's 102nd anniversary, and the National Black MBA Association's D.C. chapter was sponsoring a gathering on the third floor.

Money flowed like water. A group of 25 people celebrated a friend's birthday in a small, exclusive area behind velvet ropes that cost $1,600 to reserve. A man who paid more than $500 to reserve a tiny couch nonchalantly thumbed through a wad of cash, a half-empty bottle of Grey Goose Vodka on the table.

Los Angeles Lakers forward Lamar Odom, who was to play against the Washington Wizards in less than 18 hours, entered and was led by security to the best seat in the house, on the third floor, overlooking the street. (Teammate Kobe Bryant was across town at Mate lounge in Georgetown.)

Just before 2 a.m., the lights went on, signaling closing time; hundreds were still in the club. One of them was Steve Jumper, 24, a Shepherd Park resident who works for a public relations firm and had been at the Park since 9:30 p.m.

Jumper, who expects to house four buddies in his one-bedroom apartment for the inauguration, said he plans to take advantage of the three hours of extra club time.

"I immediately thought about the people who have called and want to crash at my place, and what we could get into with that," Jumper said before acknowledging that some people might not handle it well. "It's all about personal responsibility."

Nicole Rowe, 29, of Hyattsville, a background investigator for a federal government agency, was at the Park with two friends to get ideas for a triple birthday party they're planning at another club, Station 9 on U Street NW, to kick off inauguration week Jan. 16. She expects to start partying later than usual, maybe about 11 p.m. or midnight, so she has the stamina to stay out later.

"People need places to eat and go hang out," she said. "It's a way to get out of the house."

But Joi-Marie McKenzie, 23, who writes a nightlife blog about the District, is skeptical. In a recent post, she railed against the new law, saying that out-of-towners will use it as a license to get drunk and make trouble.

"The reason for extending the last call until 5 o'clock is purely money," McKenzie, who occasionally goes to the Park, said in an interview. "But already millions are coming to D.C. Do we really need three more hours of drinking? . . . All we've heard so far is that drinking is extended, but we haven't heard anything about how to deal with these people. We've not heard anything from the mayor or government about who will be policing or how neighborhood people in Adams Morgan or U Street can go to sleep at night."

As the Park patrons filed out Thursday, most were orderly, although beefy bouncers in black suits escorted out a handful of belligerent men sipping Moet champagne directly from the bottle.

Outside, the crowd milled about, waiting for valets to bring their cars. Vehicles that were doubled-parked on 14th Street drew impatient honks. Two D.C. police officers stood watching nearby. A block away, two cars that did not come from the Park got into an accident, and an ambulance responded.

By 2:30 a.m., almost everyone was gone, and club employees were vacuuming, getting the place ready for the next day.

Staff writer David Betancourt contributed to this report.