Nightwatch: Visage puts a new face on clubs

It came to him like a vision last August on the beaches of Mykonos, the small island off the southern tip of Greece.

Johann Sfaellos, one of the Twin Cities' most respected club owners, had recently sold his baby, the Lounge, which he had operated for 10 years in downtown Minneapolis. He retreated to his native Greece for some rest -- but he wasn't done with the club business yet. He had been hired as chief consultant for Minneapolis' newest hotspot, Visage.

Mykonos' whitewashed buildings and open-air hangouts would become its inspiration. Downtown has enough dark, dungeony clubs, he thought. Beyond European-style dance music, he would add other attractions: aerialists, drummers, trumpeters, a drag show and a fashion show -- every weekend.

This was his new vision for Twin Cities clubbers.

"I've seen them all partying in my head before they even get to the party," he said.

Visage opened to the public last Friday in the old Tropix space, on 3rd Avenue N. While Tropix operated for more than a decade in that spot, its memory as a booty club will fade fast in Visage's wake.

While big enough to be considered a superclub like Spin and Karma, Visage (French for "face") seems to have artier aspirations.

It's divided into two rooms: A lounge, called the Rosewood Room, is packed with leather couches, a giant fireplace and a really, really big Italian painting over the bar. The club side takes advantage of the high warehouse ceilings. Clubbers were stunned on opening night by the array of chandeliers and adornments shimmering above them. Waves of silky 7-foot-long white tassels circled the center of the dance floor, and clusters of mother-of-pearl shells dangled over the VIP booths. On Saturday, an aerialist swung from the steel rafters, as well.

One of Sfaellos' favorite touches is a large screen over the club's main bar that plays only FTV, a French fashion channel with nonstop runway shows. While he surveyed the crowd, a young Yugoslavian man -- probably a model -- stopped to shake his hand.

"I love you for this," he said. "This is the first club in the United States that I've seen FTV at."

Sfaellos, who plans to stay at Visage until everything is running smoothly, wants to make the fun, art-driven side of fashion a mainstay at the club. So every Friday there will be a fashion show featuring a local designer.

As midnight drew near, all eyes -- some still in sunglasses -- were fixed on the catwalk that juts into the dance floor. The models weaved through the VIP couches before hitting the stage in long, vibrantly colored dresses. Worldbeat music slammed through the speakers. People gawked. Sfaellos smiled.

"This is what was in my head."

Where: 400 3rd Av. N., Mpls. 612-455-2525.

Hours: 10 p.m.-3 a.m. Wed.-Sat. Its lounge, the Rosewood Room, opens at 5 p.m. (and eventually plans to stay open until 5 a.m. Fri.-Sat.).

Tip: The lounge looks upscale, but almost all its gourmet dishes (including sesame tempura chicken drops and blackened beef shank) are under $10.

thorgen@startribune.com • 612-673-7909