Good times in hard times: New bars are pouring it on

Earlier this month, nightclub owner Jado Hark walked through the dust-covered construction of his latest bar as a jackhammer pounded the floor behind him. He seemed pleased with the crew's progress. Hark and his brother, Steve, found success two years ago when they opened Aqua, one of downtown Minneapolis' premier nightclubs.

After spending almost a half-million dollars on this new high-end cocktail bar, located just one block from Aqua on 1st Avenue N., the Harks are ready to open Elixir tonight. Which begs the question: Aren't we in a recession? Any bar owner worth a cheap beer will tell you: The Twin Cities nightlife industry is hurting. But that can't hide the fact that Elixir and more than a dozen other bars across the Twin Cities are set to open this summer.

While it might seem strange to open a nightlife spot in a shrinking economy, the owners of these establishments say the time couldn't be more right. "The economy is the reason we're able to take this place over," Hark said. "I don't think the location would have been open if the economy wasn't in the shape that it's in."

It's a sentiment echoed by a lot of bar owners. Josh Thoma, whose second Barrio opens June 16, said several factors are allowing potential bar owners to capitalize right now.

"Landlords are more willing to strike deals now because a lot of deals aren't happening," Thoma said, adding that construction and labor costs have gone down, too.

Last year, it appeared that the boom period of Twin Cities nightclubs, which started in the mid-2000s, had finally cooled. Maybe it's heating up again. By the end of the month, Elixir will be joined in downtown Minneapolis by Club New York, an upscale hip-hop club by nightclub impresario Mike Whitelaw (Spin, Drink, Manhattans). It will open in the basement of the Lumber Exchange Building, a space that has seen three nightclubs open and close in as many years.

Maya Santamaría, who owns the Latino megaclub El Nuevo Rodeo on East Lake Street, said she wants to turn the darkened Theatre de la Jeune Lune in the Minneapolis warehouse district into a concert venue with a 2,500-person capacity. Santamaría said she's still in the early stages -- negotiating the sale of the building and applying for licensing.

By midsummer, live music will come to the corner of Lyndale Avenue and Lake Street, with the debut of a rock club called Sauce Spirits & Soundbar. Owner Mike Riehle said it'll be his first club, but he's done his homework.

"If you can manage your financial picture profitably in a lean time, things will only improve for you as the economy improves," Reihle said.

Location, location, location

In St. Paul, the success of the Bulldog in Lowertown has shown other bar owners that -- contrary to popular belief -- bargoers do exist in the capital city's downtown. Cities 97 personality Brian (B.T.) Turner said he's closer to opening a live-music joint there that will have a capacity of 200 to 300 people and feature a restaurant. Peter Rifakes, owner of the Town Hall Brewery, said he would like to open a bar in St. Paul where he would sell his brewery's beer.

Thoma, who co-owns La Belle Vie, Solera, Smalley's and the Minneapolis Barrio, is on a serious roll. He didn't even have to search out the Lowertown location for Barrio 2 -- the building's owner came to him. And he's not done yet. Thoma's North Loop pasta restaurant, Bar La Grassa, should open in August. He said more ventures might be in the pipeline with longtime business partner Tim McKee. Are they spreading themselves too thin?

"It's our biggest concern, because we've got lots of ideas," Thoma said. "We've agreed to put a moratorium on opening new places for a while."

The 'burbs are calling

Don't think the suburbs are going to be left out of this surge in nightlife. Kieran Folliard already has given the Twin Cities three Irish pubs with the Local, the Liffey and Kieran's. His fourth, Cooper, is under construction in St. Louis Park. Maybe it's an Irish thing, but the people behind McMahon's, an Irish bar in south Minneapolis, are also heading to the 'burbs. Their new bar, Paddy's Wagon, opened last week in Coon Rapids. "There's not much Irish going on out here," said Wendy Hutt, who works at the bar.

Remember when the Mall of America's upper level was a nightlife hot spot and not a cluster of shuttered store fronts? For its fourth-floor comeback, the mall started slowly last year with Cantina #1.

In July, it will open a comedy club called the House of Comedy. Its owner, Rick Bronson, runs the Comic Strip in Canada's Edmonton megamall. He said the 350-seat venue (larger than Acme) will book instantly recognizable names like D.L. Hughley and Norm Macdonald. Bronson, who's been in stand-up for 25 years, jokingly called himself the "Jesus of the fourth floor."

"I'm going to try to resurrect the fourth floor of the Mall of America," he said.

Even if the Mall of America does get its nightlife chops back, don't expect downtown Minneapolis to lose any luster. It's still the center of the our nightlife universe. Besides Elixir and Club New York, the coming months should see downtown openings for Randy Norman's upscale Indian restaurant Om, a gay bar called Gladius, a restaurant attached to legendary First Avenue and another bar by Sneaky Pete's owner Peter Hafiz.

For Elixir's opening tonight, Hark is welcoming customers with an invitation borne of these economic times: Free drinks (from 9 to 11 p.m., anyway). All he has to do after tonight is make sure bargoers keep coming back.

"We know for a fact that we're doing something special," Hark said. "There's always a concern in the back of your mind, like 'Is it going to work?' But it's the nature of the business -- there's always a risk."

thorgen@startribune.com • 612-673-7909