It sounds like Johann Sfaellos wants the block all to himself. The club owner, whose 400 Soundbar is located at 400 3rd Av. N. in downtown Minneapolis, tells me he will be opening another dance club next door and a topless joint a couple doors down.
This small stretch of 3rd Avenue – which sits just feet from Target Field and alongside the 394 entrance ramp – has been home to Sfaellos for some time. He opened 400 Soundbar (a large dance club) in May, just months after closing the similarly-named 414 Soundbar in November. That latter existed on the same block for three years until Sfaellos' landlord took him to court for unpaid rent.
Sfaellos said business is good at his latest Soundbar, but he also wants a club that doesn't need to cater to mainstream sensibilities (Top 40) and can focus primarily on European house music. So he says he's opening Deseo, a smaller dance-music club next door in the former Rosewood Room. He wants to open in six weeks. 400 Soundbar will continue to operate at its current location.
But that's not all. Last October, a new strip club, 10th Inning, was approved for a liquor license by the city at 418 3rd Av. N., just a couple doors down from Sfaellos' club. The topless, sports-themed bar opened to little fanfare and closed just the same this summer. Sfaellos says he is partnering with one of the bar's original owners, Derek Spearman, on a Paris-style cabaret. He said he wants the redesigned topless bar to have a comfortable atmosphere that will be appealing to not only men but couples, too. The new name will be the 10th Inning Stretch (no word as to why he's keeping the sporty name if it's going to be Parisian-themed). Sfaellos is in the midst of applying for a new liquor license with hopes of opening in November.
"We want to warm up the winter," he joked.
Check back here for updates on both projects.
(Above photo by Marlin Levison)
