Got an idea for a hot nightclub? Will Coleman, former co-owner of the Purple Martini chain, has some thoughts.
“The only person who would want to get into the nightclub business now is someone who’s afflicted mentally or has too much money to spend,” he says.
Coleman knows. He got out of the Purple Martini earlier this year, before the economy went comatose.
He couldn’t stay away from Denver’s night life for long, though. This week he’s launching a new kind of venture, Z Club Colorado, a “party without boundaries.”
Z Club partners with local bars, clubs and restaurants to offer sweet deals, freebies and other perks to club members. The only catch is that a membership costs $10 a month. But as Coleman points out, if you can’t afford $10 a month to join, you probably can’t afford to be out partying.
“With this economy, people are shopping smarter,” he says. “Even using (a Z Club membership) casually, it pays for itself almost immediately.”
At participating venues, Z Club members don’t have to pay a cover charge and get their first cocktail free. Z Club will throw its own events, too, and have movable happy-hour parties during the week.
Every weekend, the Z Club website will show members where to go to flash their card and get free bottle service. Each member is entitled to two free bottles a month — and with nightclub bottles priced far above retail, that’s a pretty big deal.
The perks will vary by venue. For instance, some restaurants might offer a free bottle of wine with the purchase of two entrees. Others might just throw in a free drink or two.
Coleman hopes the Z Club website will become a hub for Denver nightlife news, with a searchable database of Z Club partners.
“Before a person goes out in Denver, they’ll say, ‘Hey, let’s check the Z Club site first,’ ” says Coleman.
He drops the names of hot spots like Jing, Hapa Sushi, Bar Luxe, Plush and The Ninth Door as places where Z Club members will get the red-carpet treatment, with more to come.
For Coleman, Z Club is a more sensible approach to the fickle whims of the cool crowd.
“The club scene in Denver is changing and it’s changing fast, and the economy is pushing it,” he says. “There’s not one bar I know of that’s up over last year.”
That’s why he’s staying on the periphery for the time being.
“These bars are costing a million dollars and it takes you 3 1/2 to four years to make your money back, and how many bars are that popular?” he says. “We don’t have enough of the top-10-percenters to fill a place night after night.”
He says he has other projects in the works, but Coleman is optimistic about Z Club.
“It’s the perfect storm for success,” he says. “(Clubs aren’t) a proprietary product. It’s about people.”
Visit for more information.
Pleasure principle.
Reacquaint yourself with earthly pleasures at the fifth annual “Hedonism” party today at Vinyl (1082 Broadway).
DJs Cinful, Devo and MLE will spin records to fit all moods, and Orange Peel Moses and the Sex Kittens will entertain with a live song-and-dance revue.
Get body-painted, leathered and laced, then hit the floor with costumed dancers and the sensation-seeking masses.
Also at Vinyl, on Saturday British DJ Andy Moor takes the decks. He’s got a top-10 single on ‘s trance chart right now, so expect an amped-up crowd.
Advance tickets to Saturday’s show are $10 on .
