Copyright AM New York
The nightclub scene of New York used to be electrifying throughout the ‘90s and early 2000s. Hundreds of well-dressed 20-somethings would hungrily wait on line to get into revered venues and party into wee hours of the morning. In recent years, that scene has dwindled with the closure of several high-profile venues, like Pacha which sat on 46th Street and the Brooklyn Mirage in East Williamsburg scheduled for demolition after filing for bankruptcy earlier this year. The COVID pandemic further exacerbated the problem, pushing the “city that never sleeps” into a coma. But things are looking up for night owls. “I feel like the city’s coming back to life. I mean, there’s a lot of people who left, but I feel like a lot of people are coming back and I think it’s a great time for it,” John “JB” Behling said, founding partner of Out of Ordinary (OOO,) the newest nightclub on the Manhattan scene opened its doors Halloween night. From the same people who brought the city the renowned Pink Elephant Club on 27th Street and 1 Oak on 17th Street – both now closed – OOO is on a mission to reignite nightlife. “We wanna be the hottest place and everybody at the door. Obviously, you wanna be cool, but we’re not leading with our egos,” said Steve Martinek, also founding partner and __ . He opened more than a dozen clubs before and between all partners, they have nearly 100 years of experience. “I just love creative. It’s fun for me.” Martinek is the brains behind the “purple rhino,” the mascot of the club. A neon outline welcomes visitors at the door. Inside, they are met with the large bust of a rhinoceros seemingly breaking through the wall about 10 feet overhead. Bodies packed the space, with a ratio favoring women. Nearly 30-foot ceilings give the sense of openness with a posh balcony above, furnished with sofas and reserved for table service and beautiful people. AI generated rhino art lines the walls in ornate gold-painted frames. The main floor features a large dance floor with an elevated DJ booth and tables tucked away in pockets of the club. Movie-themed bottle service will roll out in the coming weeks. With its spacious environment and early 2000s hip hop and pop hits, the club screams nostalgia. “ That’s a big part of the movie clips,” Martinek told amNewYork. “We want to transport people to different times. I think cinema’s one of those things that transport you somewhere, gives you like that feeling.” The club features a movie-themed bottle service where a scene from Quentin Tarantino’s “Pulp Fiction” plays as servers come out with a briefcase. Or a clip from the epic boxing movie “Rocky” plays in tandem with the 1977 theme song “Gonna Fly Now” by Bill Conti as servers come out with a championship belt. The same venue housed Taj Lounge which closed in January after a nearly 11-year run and sits around the corner from the infamous Limelight. Opened in a former Catholic church in 1983, Limelight served as the plot line for the 2003 crime-thriller “Party Monster;” a docudrama about the outlandishly gritty, drug-laced party scene of Manhattan. It closed after 24 years, making it one of the longest standing nightclubs in the hottest city on the planet. The namesake now serves as a pizza joint, replacing the famous Grimaldi’s in 2024. Nightclubs are ephemeral in the city, with an average lifespan of about five years according to Martinek. An article by NBCNews clocked it at 18 months. “It’s a historic walk for nightlife,” Martinek added. “Our goal is to be a hospitality group and build multiple projects, not just be like one and done.”
