210 North Not Too Grand Opening
Now that 210 North has, eh hem, grandly opened, let’s take another look at Reno’s readiness for a club of this size and who exactly the 210 North crowd will be, or should be. There’s been a little bit written about the 210 North anticipation by Myrna et al. I’m with the Minx on this one–I want to see 210N work. By the marketing spiel posted on the DMD Web site, they are targeting you and me: “young professionals and all professionals whom [sic] have been anxiously awaiting that perfect place to enjoy a special evening out.” From what I saw last night, that seemed to be mostly true. But if 210N is trying to keep that clientele, it’s going to have to try a little bit harder.
Let me start with the good stuff. I almost clipped a pedestrian when I saw the line of people on Sierra Street waiting to get into the club. Not because I was a little peeved that there was a line at all (I was peeved–we are busy professionals with no time to stand in line, right?), but because there were 30-something women in dress coats (with what I assumed was cocktail attire beneath) and 30-something men in sports coats (I’m not talking stadium jackets here, folks). Snappy.
Until I got inside and saw the slutty Candy Striper with the stripper shoes on, which I guess would make her a Candy Stripper. Yep–you guessed it. Someone let this poor confused woman come in, even though the Halloween parties aren’t until tonight and Tuesday. Either she had on a trench coat and the security (which is a little much–5 guys at the front door?) can’t be blamed, or we’ve got a broader understanding of “cocktail attire” here in Reno than I was prepared for. Or maybe that’s what was meant by “the true club crowd who will surely be a core-supporting group of the project.” Wrong club, people. Let her wear the shoes–I don’t really care–but don’t require cocktail attire and then not enforce it. Dress code violations beget dress code violations. Sure–it’s Halloween, maybe I’m just being a stiff, but didn’t BuBinga once have a dress code?
You probably want a bit of a snapshot before I get to my next rant. The decor is just as it appears in the pictures, and the chandelier really is a marvelous piece of art. The decor is modern, colorful, and spacious. The floor plan and the position of the Divinity lounge in the floor plan flows well, which is great because the place was packed (and the lounge was a bit too packed). A good chunk of the club’s area is dedicated to VIPs, and there were quite a few reserved tables left empty. With two big bars (excluding the lounge) in the place, you’d think getting a drink would be pretty easy, right? Like maybe they’d prepared for a grand opening and had a lot of staff to make sure everything ran smoothly?
Wrong. Wrong. Wrong. I stood at one bar for at least 20 minutes before getting service. I was thinking of writing 25 minutes, but I really don’t want to exaggerate here. With one bartender working up the cocktail servers’ orders (which I assume were for the VIPs), only one bartender was making drinks–a whole hell of a lot of fruity martinis, which don’t magically come out of the bar gun. Maybe the three barbacks and some of the guys at the front door need to be cross-trained? According to one of the barbacks, 210N just got their liquor delivery that day. And how about training on the registers? Just one quick demonstration is all anyone needs, right? The guy next to me, who had been waiting at the bar when I got there, said it best after he finally got his drink, “You’re gonna look like Gandalf before you get outta here.”
Let’s wrap back to that 210N marketing pitch. Here’s my favorite part: “There are [...] two full-service bars to ensure every glass is always full.” Not even close. Here’s my second favorite part: “210 North will stand alone in service and quality. We define ourselves with consistently perfect cocktails and martinis.” Consistency? I wouldn’t know because that would require comparing two cocktails.
However, I would know about waiting in line twice and that was certainly consistent (I am being generous–I’m not even counting either time in the coat-check line). Maybe the VIP experience was different and maybe that’s who 210 North is truly trying to target. I’m not sure, but from what I saw last night, Reno is ready for a club like this. It’s 210 North that wasn’t ready.
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That doesn’t sound fun. It sounds snobby and sober. I wonder what the cover is like??
Better stick to 10 cent drafts at Cue N Cushion.
Damn Violet–not so shy after all! Excellent review. Apparently 210 Norht management was not ready for the number of people who showed up. I take it that if they get the drink service together, it all might work?
Indeed, they could make it work if they had better service and can convince the crowd who was there last night to keep coming back.
Aw…come on now. Give ‘em a little time to work the kinks out. Nobody every opens with everything running perfectly, right? The fact that there’s a crowd now is a good thing. Give it a try one more time…then compare.
The problem is this town is VERY word of mouth. It can kill a bar or restaurant.
Violet’s review reminded me of the typical L.A. club…wait in line for hours, you get in, another hour to get your first drink. Let’s hope those people in sports coats and dress coats think it’s chic or hip to wait an hour for a drink, long enough for 210 North to get their act together. First impressions are everything.
One thing missing from your review Violet are the beds? What’s up with the beds? We’re people just lounging around on them? Anyone spill a drink on one?
So i went to 210 N with a group on Sat night for the costume fiesta. I thought this club would pick up on the whole, mixing up the genera vibe that this town craves. I mean, Liquid Lounge was more fun, at least you can get a little house or trance fix. I would encourage mgmt to mix up genera’s, get some house rolling in the back bar (yeah the one with that silly blonde that couldn’t figure out how to use the POS machine).
I think the bottom line is, reno already has a top 40 mainstream club, its call bubinga, and sat night was clearly no different.
My 2 cents, less cool guys with jackets protecting the VIP areas, and get the drinks rollin faster. The backroom is cool with a very creative glass art installation, but needs a swift kick in the butt on “bartending 101 and mixing up the beats 101.”
I have not given up on 210 North, but this it was a little over-hyped for what it really is, another pretentious Top 40/hip hop nightclub. This place will not last without mixing it up, I mean what do you need two rooms for if you don’t cater to crowd diversity.
I too was there on the so called ‘Grand Opening night’ and I did wait in the line for about a half hour, but how else was Reno to think that something was going on in the club if they didn’t have a line of shmucks waiting… I was upset thinking I was going to see the ‘best of the best’ bar staff and a new experience to indulge in waiting for me. But No, I found the same bartenders in Reno called by friends to work on their night off. Cool, I guess for them, and not that I don’t like them but come on, think Tom cruise and Cocktails! Not “hey man what do you think of my bleached dirty shirt ?” and “how does this thing work?”. I also like the consistency when I go from one bar with my favorite drink to another bar that doesn’t have Makers I was drinking at the last bar, not to mention after waiting 20 minutes to order. I guess since it was free to get in I should just shut my mouth and fill it with drinks at my old hang out…at least they know my name and treat me like a VIP on any night I want to stagger in.
P.S. Cocktail attire! Ask a F$#@ grandparent or look up some pictures! Come on RENO!
The owners of this establishment are clueless hacks. The Eldorado wet nursed these hillbillys for too many years. If it werent for a bunch of losers dumping dollars into machines, these two would be a prep cook and a bar back at best. A big waste of daddys money. 210 North going down the TUUUUUUUUBES!!!
More to the point, the “co-owner”, the spoon fed Carano boy, as# kisser delux, whatever!! The word is well known and out on the street regarding his incompetence and vicious back stabbing of loyal Eldorado employees, with no regard towards anything other than preserving his own sad existence. Karma MUST come to home to roost with this SCUMBAG!!!
Let’s not get too personal. And I still want 210 to work. Reno benefits from such a club.
I go to clubs for three things: to drink, socialize and to relax. A club should be about it’s patrons, not the other way around, so set your rules and stick with them. (Dress code) Club people in Reno are most likely from other metropolitan areas like LA, SF, NYC, and the OC. You might want to do your homework before you set a $25.00 door fee. Last time I say one that high I was in a club called Vegas in Newport Beach. Yea, that club was short lived too.
210 North is charging a $25 door fee?
When is reno going to liven up as a night-life town? Anyone know whats going on with that eyesore place, Babylon. Who is losing their ass on that building? Why don’t bars like Stoney’s get utilized for monthly events? This town trips me out, seems like there are some cool people around, but that the nightclub industry is completely either sink (trance, house) or swim (playing hip hop). Why do so many people like bunk ass mainstream hip hop. We americans are silly, look at how big dance music and new emerging music generas are embraced on the int’l scene. And in the US, you gotta be in a city of over 1 million people to have that int’l dance influence. Anyone understand this phenomenon and want to take a shot at explaining to me why Reno sucks so much ass in the nightclub element?
I went, It sucked, stay away, pompus employees, bad service, pretentious atmosphere, bad smelling, cheaply done. If you want a great club experience, go to a metropolitan area!!
Honestly, I think its because most people in their twenties are married and don’t go out on a regular basis. The people who do are fairly young, and, well, they don’t have very good taste. If you believe Alexis Gray in the RGJ Its My Weekend blog, there is a local DJ playing more international stuff but havent heard him. He plays at the kindergarten club XOXO and the Satellite I think. Maybe Tonic? By the way, I think the best music is at Tonic.
Pleeeeeese!!!! NOW WE HAVE STUPID INDUSTRY NIGHT AGAIN!!! C’MON ITS THE SAME OLD SHIT ALL OVER. MIGHT AS WELL BE A STRIP CLUB!!!! New ideas please. not old recycled crap from casino schmucks, over and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over!!!
Yes, very unimaginative couple of Renobillys runnin the place, I know!! lets do sumthin original, like say……OOH! OOH! Ladies night!!
Are those assholes out of business yet?
Oh Rick, they are trying and that’s more than most.
Sounds anoying…yes vegas is better in all of the above but its just as bad for wait time @ the bar, not to metion the fact that a good portion of the night clubs in vegas are dedicated to the VIP’s…remember this is reno…a small town, not vegas, a large town….noting to compare here!
Oh Yea! Like I really wanna stand in line all night outside a dump in Reno with 20 bucks, hoping to get inside a shithole with shitheads at the helm. Then, I find I am not a VIP!!! Ooh Ooh, sign me up!!! FUCKING LOSER IDIOTS!!!!!!!!!
I DJ’d there New Years Eve, and had some fantastic anal sex on that bed. 210N is the best gay club in town!!! I LUV BOY MEAT!!!!!
I was curious, I went once………Waited in lines all night. What a pretentious, vapid, overpriced, smug, ugly scene. Die off you self important retarded jerks.
210 North
Such a poor location upstairs, lack of real publicity, and locals are totally not into it. Sounds like a formula for disaster. What makes it worse is that the street level commercial units were conditioned to not-allow any nightlife, bar, etc… So the casino tycoons wrecked that entire block corner from getting better in fear of competition.
They should have started smaller on the street level, spent 1/3 of the money, and targeted the local market better.
This block will be ghetto for a long time. West 2nd bar does well because? anyone, anyone, it has great frontage to passerbyers on the street. 210 N is like a maze, with a bowl of bunkness at the end.
Esteban
We were at 210 North on Saturday the 10th of February. My best friend’s girlfriend got Rufi’d, I left without closing my tab open after ordering 3 Bud Lights, 2 Cran-Vodkas, and 2 7&7’s… they charged my card for $100. Pretty excited to pay a $20 cover to try that again!
Lets start a grassroots word of mouth campaign. AVOID 210N!!!!!
If you want a club with GOOD, Unique music, not that same MTV style music (i.e. My Humps) check out DJ Fernie Fresh (Who Care’s Ernie Upton) at the Greenroom and Tonic, DJ Casrock at the Greenroom, and DJ AFS at Tonic, XOXO, and Satellites.
And calling XOXO ‘kindergarten club’ was pretty funny Myrna. Yeah its not really for a-dults.
Oooooooooh!!! Everyone there is way too cool for me. I think I will never go out in this dirty hick town again!!!