Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Uptown nightclub closed

The Hom nightclub complex, which houses Liv, Play and Feast, closed Monday -- but it wasn't clear whether its doors have been permanently shut.


In an e-mail Tuesday, the building's owner, Stefan Latorre, wrote:

"I can confirm that HOM closed yesterday. My company owns the building where HOM is located, and as a result of their closing, it owns all of the assets in the building. I do not want to comment further at this time."

A source said Latorre plans to reopen the club in two to three weeks. However, it is not clear whether Hom's current employees will be retained under the new ownership nor whether the club will continue to retain the Hom name.

Hom, at 116 W. 5th St., had been operating for just over a year.

74 comments:

Anonymous said...

Doesn't this place fail / re-open annually?

Anonymous said...

Man, that space must be cursed!

Anonymous said...

I remember the way that the club, then known as Menage, treated African American patrons a few years ago. The building still has the same owner. Oh Well...........

Unknown said...

Ahh, I guess this is what's stalling the lounge opening up on the corner of Pecan and Central in Plaza Midwood. I hear they're owned by the same folks.

Anonymous said...

It wasn't just African American patrons that were treated badly, it was everyone! They bouncers and bar tenders were total jerks. I went there one time with a bunch of friends, never went back because the employees were rude.

Anonymous said...

When this club was know as Menage, the line was wrapped around the corner every weekend, then the owner closed it, I figured HOM wouldnt last, nobody went there!!!

Anonymous said...

There was a local hair gel shortage, as well as low inventory at Abercrombie and Fitch. However, once these situations are taken care of, it will be business as usual in downtown, er...excuse me, Uptown Charlotte.

Anonymous said...

That last comment was pretty funny. On another note, Feast was probably the worst restaurant I've ever been to. Everything that should have been a warm dish was cold when they brought it to our table. The only thing that was warm was the macaroni and cheese. But it wasn't just warm, it was so hot that my friend couldn't eat it, even after 20 minutes. Their staff wasn't any better.

Anonymous said...

Last time I went there with a bunch of friends, it put a minor damper on our night. They lied about the cover on the phone and when ten of us got there it suddenly hiked. The doorman was rude. After that we all agreed this place wouldn't last a year. We were wrong, it lasted a year and a month or so.

Anonymous said...

It closed because that place wasn't very much fun. It tried to be like a club you would find in Miami, however, it failed miserably. The place was too dark and expensive. The nail in the coffin was the opening of SUITE. They were competing for the same patrons and it's obvious that SUITE came out the winner.

Anonymous said...

I really liked the egg swings. Do you think they will be giving them away? LOL

James Fedele said...

Let me respond to Louie:

My name is James Fedele. Soul Gastrolounge is owned by Andy Kastanas and myself. We are in no way affiliated with HOM. Just wanted to clear that up for ya.

Anonymous said...

Yeah, Suite wins for now. Just like Time and Twist did a while ago. It's the nature of the biz....a lotta turnover and folks always lookin' for the next hot spot...too bad this spot was never hot.

In my humble opinion, they were tryna do too much and the food sucked.

The DJs in Live were tight tho...might've been above the crowd's head....Maybe if the turn the place into an extension of Buckhead or Dixie's, they'll survive....

Anonymous said...

For some reason these type of clubs always turn ghetto. I remember a bunch of cool club/dance venues. For example-VARGA, CRUSH, TIME, MENAGE, HOM, Now SUITE. I'll bet you that SUITE will turn ghetto and close in a year or so.

Anonymous said...

Hom had the best music in town (except for Tutto Mondo), but I agree with all of the above that the service sucked, everyone there was rude (I had an experience where last call had already gone, and we were still charged $15 or whatever to enter the basement for nothing), and it was overpriced and not good. did like the atmosphere, though, and it was the first of its kind in Charlotte. At least club developers now know that there is a market for a half classy place in town!

Anonymous said...

the food was ok at feast, but i only went once. it was severely overpriced for what it was. every time i went past it in the evenings, it was empty (so empty that i thought it was closed but the candles on the tables were lit).

so it's one of two things - the owners, or that corner of uptown...Latorre's isn't anything to shake a stick at either and i wouldnt be shocked if it went next. i think they need to just sell and move on.

Anonymous said...

The word is a new place will open in the next month, right after CIAA, and they will have a new club and no one will know its the same owner, again and again!

Anonymous said...

Went one time ever, walked around, walked right back out. There was no appeal for me at all in HOM.

Anonymous said...

"They were competing for the same patrons and it's obvious that SUITE came out the winner."

Uh no. HOM played more house/electro/lounge music. Suite plays mostly top 40. If anyone sees a hike in sale from HOM closing it will be forum.

Anonymous said...

Well. This puts a damper on my free gold membership entitling me to entry with no cover.

Anonymous said...

The motif fit well while it lasted and probably created a trend of things to come, setting Charlotte downtown as being diverse and yet individually comfortable. It's all a part of the experience-then it becomes history

Anonymous said...

Me and a fellow buddy of mine was trying to buy or rent the Menage part and bring a more up beat. casual appeal to uptown charlotte. but it was turned into feast. and I have seen both sides of the table when it was Menage. I am black and seen how the doormen acts and have seen how other races were treated as well. It wouldnt happen if me and my friend are able to get this club, dont come with any foolishness or you will be turned away. come ready to enjoy yourself and feel SAFE. in uptown with a good upscale club. charlotte needs one that isn't just a strip club

Unknown said...

Even Though I didnt make many trips to HOM, I did enjoy LIV's atmosphere, and that you could unwind there until 4am. My favorite memory from their was the Official Kanye West After Party, that DJ Five tore up! One of the top parties in 2008!

Anonymous said...

When word gets around not to drink anything but the bottled beer because the drinks are watered down, what can you expect? The staff was arrogant and the bartenders were probably the worst in Charlotte.

New start. Everyone is getting a chance at it these days.

Anonymous said...

Does anyone have the idea why strip clubs last much longer than nightclubs in Charlotte? Carousel on S. Blvd has been in business longer than any club has in the space where HOM was. HOM was very fashionable, good DJ's, etc. but it couldn't capture the true interest of Charlotteans. Should they not have brought Tommy Lee as their special celebrity guest that one night and plug it all over the radio??

Anonymous said...

shocker. not. In tough economic times i dont understand why these bars are still trying to charge a cover. This is charlotte and not nyc, la, miami or even atlanta for that matter. Long lines at the door and no one inside. stupid. people cant spend money waiting in line. they spend money on drinks.
This goes for suite as well. Over rated and over hyped. Next to shut down will be Tilt. Not sure how they pay the rent.Idiot owners who got in over their head. Just like those in real estate debt and credit card debt. Maybe obama will bail out the bar owners like every other idiot who makes bad decisions. We should start an rip bar list. lol.

Anonymous said...

Typical lawyer statement........

Anonymous said...

Flawed business model! Epicentre is a succes because of it size and defined boundaries among the tenants. Suite is trendy, Whiskey is country, Blackfinn is the sports bar, and then you have the movie theater, and bowling alley. At HOM they had 3 different venues in a tiny building. The restaurant stinked and the club catered to yuppies with music that barely makes it in NYC and Miami, let alone Charlotte. All of this in addition to poor management, bad promo, and tricky location! That space needs a high end restaurant or hookah lounge. JUST THAT! Don't overdo it again.

Anonymous said...

HOM has left no mark on the QC nightlife and will NOT be missed at all. We all ditched that place a year ago - the best party place on the weekends still is and has always been Forum (Only effect it will have on us true uptown patrons is that the lines to get in Forum will be longer than usual). UGH!!

Anonymous said...

HOM was the hottest club with the hottest staff in town their first year, then they got lazy and rude and pompous, their VIP section was a joke, I mean seriously...this place was a total rip off.

Anonymous said...

Wake up and smell the reality. Lower priced venues are what's going to succeed during this recession. Take a look at NIX next door, always packed. Why ? Because you can get a burger and brew and watch a game for under $15. Not $15 just to walk in the door.

Look at the NIX concept as well. Daddy's could have pulled it off if Latorre had a clue about what the people want and knew how to accomplish that.
Daddy's was a dive. Disgusting and unclean, just like Feast. The chairs at Feast look like they weren't cleaned since opening day. Comon' Morons, the chairs are white, take a rag to them once in awhile.

Anonymous said...

I think the Pterodactyl business model was the best, Cheap beer, good reasonable shows, Large space, Let everyone in. And when it was packed inside. Then there was a line around the building. They lasted over 10 years.

Anonymous said...

I loved ths place. When it opened the restaurant was cool, good and inviting. I had some great times meandering through the rest of the spaces as well. They started out with what looked like a clear vision and then it slowly went downhill, kind of like it had lost it's vision and no longer had a purpose. Such a shame. No other place in Charlotte had the character of Hom.

Anonymous said...

Their dormen for some reason feel like they are entitiled to do what ever they feel like. I was walking past they club on my way to my house. A bouncer shoved me onto the sidewalk demanding that I get back in line and out of the street.
Not everyone is going to your club meathead!

Anonymous said...

That sucks. I really liked the way it all looked but what ruined it was that it always seemed dead. I thought LIV was really cool. Unfortunately it seems like Bar Charlotte type places do well here in the long run. How the hell is that place still open? It is disgusting!

Anyways, there has been a lot of competition downtown with lots of new places opening. These places have to get competitive to continue to draw people. If this place re-opens, hopefully they will change some things to draw and keep people coming. By the way, Feast did suck. The food was not that good and it was way too expensive for what you got.

Anonymous said...

Maybe he will open Coyote Ugly in that space? HAHA! Ew...

Anonymous said...

I wish Bar Charlotte would close down and move to Gastonia where they belong.

Anonymous said...

Karma Andre, Karma.

I told you to turn the bass down a bit.

I'm Glad to see it go as I am sure everyone who lives on that side of the Avenue condos are glad as well.

Anonymous said...

Well I disagree with a lot of what you all are saying on here. HOM had a great ambiance feel to it, very classy and awesome vibes! It had 3 levels to it; LIV which was great for lounging around and winding down, Feast which served great food and Play well that’s were you could get your groove on. The club stayed open till 4am which was cool, unlike a lot of the other clubs that close at 2:30 or so. I thought the food was very good at Feast and never had any problems, nor were the prices to high. I always had excellent service by the wait staff and bartenders. I remember coming their in 2007 NYE and it was my first time going and I didn’t know anything about the place and I was by myself. The staff was very nice and showed me around. I had such an awesome time their, that I have been coming back ever since. HOM brings in some of the best DJs like Lee Burridge and Mark Farina to name a few. I also like the fact that it was nonsmoking inside, so you didn’t come home smelling like smoke and nor have it on your clothes.
It was my favorite club to come too, and I did feel like I was at home. HOM will be missed :(

Anonymous said...

In response to the "avenue condo" post - Here's some "Karma" right back at ya dude...!! Your avenue condo is only worth what it is BECAUSE of the great nightlife uptown. They say people in "glass houses shouldn't throw stones".

Anonymous said...

I highly doubt their closing had ANYTHING to do with the avenue.

PROTIP: that space was a club before the avenue was even built! how about doing a little bit of research on your surroundings before you move into a building and then insistently bitch about how "noisy" it is. You're living in downtown. If you don't like it move to the burbs with the rest of your lawyer and banker friends.

Anonymous said...

Uptown condos are worth what they are because of many reasons. Being able to walk to all of them is the main reason.

1. work
2. theater
3. restaurants
4. arena events
5. Panthers
6. Now finally some retail
7. movies
8. bowling
9. light rail
10. night clubs

Trust me, the vast majority of OWNERS at Avenue are not nightclub rats.

HOM is and never was "great nightlife" so right back at ya Moron .... I mean "Dude".

Maybe people in glass houses should drop cement blocks down onto your head .... Dude.

Anonymous said...

I'm going to miss watching people walk into that mirror in the basement. But that's about it...

Anonymous said...

Haaa Haaa. I have absolutely no lawyer or banker friends you tool.

HOM was asked to turn the bass down just a bit, they didn't.

As for doing research before I buy a place goes I have lived uptown for 6 years now and was full aware of the club. I am also full aware of the noise ordinance in the city of Charlotte. HOM didn't comply, that's why their managers spent many a trip to the courthouse paying fines.

No ones saying turn the music off. Just down a bit, close the doors to the patio so the tunes don't flow out, have a little respect for your neighbors and they will do the same. We aren't talking midnight complaints either, we are talking 2:00 am

Otherwise ............. simply go away.

Anonymous said...

yes, please "Avenue dude" ... just please go away - go on out and stand on your balcony and throw things on people (now that's something to aspire to!). I'm sure KARMA will strike once again and in place of HOM will open up something else that will REALLY annoy you and perhaps make your life more exciting once again.

Anonymous said...

I don't throw crap down on people you fool.
It was a simple play on words to the posters
"people in glass houses shouldn't throw stones"

Okay, done here, said my peace, enjoy your rantings.

Anonymous said...

The Bartenders their poured the single most awful drinks I have ever had in my life.

Other bars who may hire them: please heed this warning, or at least train them.

Anonymous said...

Trip Advisor reviews:

Dined here on 9/26/2008. My group of girlfriends went to Feast to celebrate a friend's bachelorette party, and arrived in good spirits; ready for a fun night. Unfortunately, the inattentive service, bland, uncooked and overcooked "food," and unbelievably rude manager made this the worst restaurant experience I've ever had in my entire life.
The fact that the restaurant was almost completely empty on a Friday night around 8:30pm should have been our first warning sign that this place was one to be avoided. However, we figured the service would probably be better with so few people dining--boy were we wrong. For starters, the waitress (while friendly), failed to bring out water despite numerous requests. While waiting for our food, we overheard the couple next to us politely tell the manager that their pasta tasted like it had come straight from a box, and that they'd rather be eating Rice-a-Roni. Needless to say, they paid their bill, but promptly left (food untouched).
Still hopeful, we all ordered different entrees. However, when our food arrived (at all different times), it too was either overcooked (ravioli), undercooked (fries and steak), or smothered in so much sauce that it was barely recognizable (paella).
Normally we would've never stayed past this point, but the bachelorette wanted dessert to celebrate, so we ordered two crepes, which took about 30 minutes to arrive.
Once the crepes did arrive, we realized that they'd been put on the plate still completely uncooked with multiple pats of cold, hard butter slices on the inside. When we brought this to the manager's attention, he said that it was "supposed to be served like that," that the cook "just wanted to go home," but that he would take it off our check and bring the crepes back, cooked this time. This seemed reasonable to us, so we decided to stay. However, after waiting another 30 minutes without being checked on even once, one of us found the manager and asked what the situation was. The manager became completely hostile, denied all responsibility, and then irrationally said that he'd thought we didn't want them anymore (even though he said he'd "bring them right out" not 20 minutes before), and that if he were going to give us more "product," he'd have to charge us again (even though he'd earlier said that he'd "comp the two crepes").
Never before have I ever dealt with such a rude manager who so completely failed to care about the quality of his restaurant's food, staff, or customer dining experience.
Bottomline, if you want to enjoy your food or your night, then keep on walking and do not waste you time here.


Sep 17, 2008
This place looks really hip, and I'd give it 4 stars just on decoration. Out of curiousity, I decided to come here for lunch one day.... because they had crepes. YUM! The menu has some creativity, but when the food came out... it was very poorly executed. First, food was too salty. Second, the crepes just didn't takes like crepes. Third, it had this horrific gravy on it... and lots and lots of it. It was gross. And it was completely over price. Lunch for two was almost $30 and plus tips, and I drink water and no appetizer. So please save yourself and skip the food here.

Anonymous said...

Mr. Latorre,

You just cannot compete with the EpiCenter so why even try ? The night club biz may just not be your bag anyway. Your new best friends are actually your neighbors in Fourth Ward. Why not go to a monthly meeting and ask what type of business they would support ? Chances are they will tell you.

A few ideas are:

Ground level:
Blynk Organic Cafe. They are already in uptown on Tryon and 3rd and are currently searching for an on street location.The ground floor would be a perfect fit. www.blynk.com


Basement:
A Belgian beer bar such as the Thirsty Monk in Asheville would be ideal for a basement pub.

The top floor:
Okay, work with me on this one. We live in the center city and we have no yards. There are many who would pay a reasonable monthly fee to lease a small space for their own personal organic garden in your new rooftop green house on the top floor.

Club goers may laugh at these ideas. But a club has never worked in this location so I would start focusing on new ideas. Something that no one else in uptown has.

Look what's going in at Avenue next door. A small market, Thai restaurant and upscale salon. Neighborhood amenities, not night clubs.

I predict Bar, Cosmos and Alley Cat will be the next to go sometime in 2009. Club goers want to get off the train and be at the EpiCenter or park their car and be right there in the middle of it all.

Think "neighborhood" Mr. Latorre.

Anonymous said...

I THOUGHT THE VENUE WAS AWESOME, AND I'VE NEVER HAD A BAD EXPERIENCE, OR WATERED DOWN DRINK! WHAT'S UP WITH ALL YOU HATERS??? YOU THINK YOU COULD DO IT BETTER?? THEN BRING IT! ANDRE AND SEAN ARE TWO OF THE TOP BUSINESS MEN IN CHARLOTTE, AND THEY KNOW HOW TO RUN A VENUE BETTER THAN ANYONE ELSE IN CHARLOTTE. TAKE ALL YOUR HATEFULL COMMENTS AND STICK IT.

Anonymous said...

If they know how to run a venue better than anyone else then why did it fail ?

Did your elementary english teacher not tell you how and when to use capitals ?

Anonymous said...

SO MUCH HATE, AND MALICE FOR SUCH A LITTLE PERSON!
FUNNY HOW AS SOON AS SOMETHING TAKES A BAD TURN, EVERYONE WANTS TO JUMP ON THE BAND WAGON AND SLAM IT WITH HATEFUL COMMENTS.
I'M SURE EVERYONE ON HERE WHO POSTED ALL THESE FABULOUSLY DEROGATORY COMMENTS HAS NEVER NOT ACHIEVED THE ASPIRED FOR RESULTS?
AGAIN, WHY KICK SOMEONE WHEN THEIR DOWN? THAT'S A BIG REFLECTION ON YOUR CHARACTER. IT TAKES SOMEONE WHO STANDS OUT FROM ALL THE OTHERS, NOT TO FOLLOW THEM DOWN SUCH AN UGLY ROAD.
SHEEP.

Anonymous said...

I thought the place was nice, but agree it was not operated very well. I went there a few times and was never treated very well. The entire game is getting ready to change later this year with the opening of clubs at the Music Factory. Check any real city they have an entertainment district like the one being created at the factory with ground level clubs and pubs, typically in older buildings. The tenants they have coming to that place are AMAZING - Fillmore (done by Live Nation - the largest concert promoter in world), 5,000 Seat Amphitheater (also done by Live Nation), Butter, Crobar, Wet Willies, on and on - all the clubs are being done by the real big city operators. So much is getting ready to happen there and it is such a cool area that it is going to be very hard for anyone to compete when that project is complete. For those who like house music like I do the Garden and Gun club is already open at the Music Factory and the music is great with Andy Kastansas spinning on Saturday night check it out.

Anonymous said...

What's the matter ? Truth hurt ?

Anonymous said...

HOM wasn't really that bad of a place. If you love the Techno Music seen you would love that place. It had a different atmosphere for every type of person that entered that club. Play = Top 40 and special DJ's. Feast = Mediterrean Meals. LIV = Techno Music. All different types of people, I would never say that it was just for black,white,mexican,russian.....it was for everyone to enjoy there night.
Yea maybe HOM was a bit over priced, but your paying for the beautiful cocktails waitresses to serve you and make sure your doing alright the whole night.
How many times can say that you have attended HOM???
Since the Epicentre has opened up, pretty much EVERY BUSNIESS is losing a lot of it's customers.
Just how long will the EPICENTRE last???
Times are hard for everyone right now. I think that HOM made the right decision of closing down. Now they can come up with a new Marketing Plan!

Anonymous said...

Random replies:

I give them kudos for trying to do something with this space that was supposed to be new and interesting. They renovated the place nicely, but couldn't figure out how to fill it.

Kept bringing in dj's that mostly played the same style of music. Which ended up not being hugely successful, so why not try different styles of house?

Never ate at the restaurant, and now I'm glad I didn't

The concept for what they initially were trying to do was fine, but they had the wrong size space for it. They couldn't fill the building with the crowd they were trying to cater to. They needed to think on a bigger scale.

I don't agree with the comment that Andre and Sean know how to run a club better that anyone in this city. There are so many more that have had much more success in what they have done then these two. Unfortunately...look how long Bar has been open. They had to have been doing something right...for better or worse.

If you bought a condo at Ave. on the HOM side you should have thought smarter if you did not want to hear music coming out of the building at 2:00 am. It's what they do and they were there first.

The many times I was there the only reason the doors opened was for people to go in and out of the patio. The doors were never permanently open. The reason people were going on the patio was to smoke. This was one of the problems that they could have easily fixed by allowing smoking inside. Smokers don't want to go outside and freeze/get rained on just to have a cigarette. This club was too big with too high of ceilings to not allow smoking inside even if it was just on the top level.

Suite is not a competitor, completely different music and clientele. Or at least was supposed to be.

I hope Latorre finds someone else to run the club if it reopens. He clearly showed he had no idea what he was doing with Menage. (Seriously...a slide in an upscale night club???...c'mon man!!!!)

I find it strange how few nightclubs realize that they are in the service industry and yet have door people who are completely oblivious to this fact. Yes Suite...I am talking about you.

strip clubs last longer than night clubs because they can hide income much easier and pay lower taxes. Plus, at strip clubs, the girls pay the club to work.

The downstairs at HOM was cool...unfortunately, it was REALLY too cool down there to comfortably hang out without freezing to death. Something that should have been fixed if they wanted to use this space and keep in business.

I'm glad Andre didn't turn down the bass. You don't like it...wear earplugs and go to sleep or move.

Anonymous said...

You sound so angry - with your capital letters and all. Clearly you are a friend (or fan) of the owners and it is nice of you to defend them, but clearly their club/restaurant/lounge failed because it sucked. A good friend could admit the truth to another and offer construtive criticism rather than blind defense! If they are so successful (and no doubt they are), I doubt they will lose sleep over random posts on the CLT Observer website. Plus, they know the club failed, they are the ones closing it. Good luck next time. I am not a club owner by trade or interest (so I will decline your challenge), but I would love to become a patron of a worthwhile spot in uptown (i.e. SUITE with a decent DJ and FAST bartenders).

eddie704 said...

Never even stepped in Hom once, but heard it was way too metrosexual...good riddance. Cosmos will stay around just because their sushi is incredible, plus the fact they're right beside the Holiday Inn. BAR will always be there b/c Gastonia & Concord love BAR. I can see Alley Cat and Tilt closing their doors in the near future. Buckhead will always be around, great location and great setup with live band and DJs. The Epicenter bars are still new, so they will stay hot, but eventually their business will come back to earth.

Anonymous said...

It’s really sad to read so many angry and hateful comments. Who gets this angry about a night club? Bouncers are generally rude… they have to be! Imagine having their job. The bartenders were great (I had my favorites ;), I never had a bad drink. And the cocktail waitresses were very accommodating to anything that we needed. The atmosphere and music was fun and inviting. As for the pricing… you have to pay for what you get. There was a classy crowd, I never saw any fights brake out, you didn’t have to deal with nasty skank people, and the establishment always looked clean. I’m sure that I could go on with this list, but the point is that if you can’t afford it… go to Bar Charlotte. And for all of you that are preaching about the recession… From my experience, there were a lot of good employees that worked there that are now out of the job. So I don’t think that the hateful and angry comments are really necessary, at least out of respect for those people. I understand that you might have had one bad experience there, but all in all, Hom was a nice place, it will be missed by those who could appreciate it, and I hope to see another club with a similar concept open soon in its place.

Anonymous said...

Uh, let me see, Avenue started pre-sales in 2005. HOM wasn't even a twitch in Andre's pants at that point. Menage did not have the gigantic outdoor patio as did HOM. So Menage would not have been as bothersome.

Bottom Frigin' line children, there are noise ordinance laws for a reason. Stop crying and go somewhere else to dry hump beotches that you will never bed.

Anonymous said...

Have to remind the Avenue, concrete balcony throwing dude about a former post "people in glass houses shouldn't throw stones" and I personally can't wait to see what is put in place of HOM, and Andre... let us know when you have your grand opening - coz I want to bring 100 friends to your patio, asking every hour that you "kick up a notch"

Anonymous said...

coz ?

Anonymous said...

What makes you think the Avenue person is a guy or "Dude" as you like to say ? Could be a hot momma.

Anonymous said...

So really....what's best 4 this spot????

Anonymous said...

Anything unique to uptown Charlotte or better yet Charlotte on a whole. Something that isn't anywhere else in this city. Someone previously gave some ideas. I don't think we have a true Belgian pub, organic restaurant or rooftop greenhouse for city dwellers. Those may not be ideal, but at least they are suggestions. Latorre needs to rack his brain, look at other cities websites and see what they have that we don't.

Another club, please, it will fail within a year like every single other club has in this location. The enormity of the coming NC Music Factory and the EpiCenter will make it hard for other locations to compete club wise. He needs to look at a new angle, a new direction. He needs to talk with the residents in his neighborhood. They are the ones who are there day in and day out and are the ones who will support a business that fits their needs. I don't think a techno club is exactly what most residents are dying to go to. Granted some are, but I don't think the majority.

Look at NIX success. People bitch about it but it is always packed. Simple concept, not too overpriced, it works. The coming Thai Basil will work, as will the upscale salon. Think outside the box Latorre.

Anonymous said...

don't buy a house beside the train tracks and then complain about the noise coming from the trains when they go by...don't buy a condo above a nightclub and then complain about the sounds coming from the nightclub...HOM itself was not there but Menage was, same difference...you bought a condo downtown, so don't complain when you here downtown sounds. Basically, quit crying or move.

Anonymous said...

See previous Indian comment Moron.

If you or anybody else can't come up with anything besides "move" than there's really no need for you to say the same old thing now is there you fool ?

Anonymous said...

Suggestion for Uptown condo owners, SELL. The economy is not getting any better. Suggestion for anyone who wants good food, don't eat in clubs and restaurants owned by clubs. Try Capital Grille, Mortons, Blue or someplace like LaVecchia's Seafood Grille.
And if you're looking for a good club scene, move. Charlotte is lame for that, the girls are ugly and the rags they wear look like they just came from Gastonia.

Anonymous said...

Finally, good advice !!

I'm not selling though. I bought first day pre-construction so I paid a huge amount less than they are actually selling for right now. I am good for at least a year before I hit the break even.

But the Gastionia comments are true. The guys aren't any better in Charlotte either. Some of the worst skin head losers I've ever seen.

By the way I am a hot mamma, not a dude.

Anonymous said...

Somehow the words "hot" and "momma" ... or at least the way you say them make me shutter. I'm excited to see what HOM is going to be replaced with - maybe "momma" will be pleased. Good LUCK Lattore - put some effort into this one!!

Anonymous said...

or was it b/c they served alcohol way after 2am? lol

Anonymous said...

Being a weekend cab driver in Charlotte, this is one closure I wish wouldn't have happened. The Epicentre has TOO MUCH of a MONOPOLY on the weekends; can't even get to it due to too much traffic there already. So I ply my trade at other bars. . .

Yes, the economy sucks! But maybe someone could figure out how to break up the near monopoly at the Epicentre. It would be good for downtown.

house fan23 said...

Great venue for deep house music, but unfortuately smaller cities can not support a niche music crowd. Once again top 40 and hip hop wins over all, makes sense with a broader appeal. I very much enjoyed seeing world class deep house dj's there including Miguel Migs, Chuck Love, Collette et al which normally require a trip to Chicago, Miami, New York, San Francisco or LA. The restaurant and vibe were tired, will only be missed for the music and only for a few deep house followers like myself

Anonymous said...

I'm sure all you who posted such negative remarks will show up for the next venue they open as well.
Maybe the reason the bartenders were slow in serving you, and the doormen rude, was because you act like little trolls with no manners...the same way that you post here.
Like begets like.