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N2-509-019

FEBRUARY 25, 2009

ANITA ELBERSE RYAN BARLOW SHELDON WONG

Marquee: The Business of Nightlife

“The night Stevie Wonder gave an impromptu performance of ‘Isn't She Lovely’ at Marquee, I said, 'We just hit the pinnacle. But a moment later I thought, 'No way. It is going to get better.’" — Noah Tepperberg, founder of Marquee “It’s Paris. Look, over there!” One young clubgoer directed his friend’s attention to a woman, dressed in a designer outfit, who stepped out of her chauffeured car at a busy intersection on 10th Avenue in Chelsea, Manhattan. The celebrity in question, Paris Hilton, warmly greeted the doorman, took a few steps on a red-carpeted sidewalk, and quickly entered through a heavy black door, not noticing the two clubgoers who watched her every move. After a long wait, they had edged their way to the front of a line that stretched around the block and counted hundreds of people, each hoping for their chance to follow Hilton inside. Although the long lines and star-studded atmosphere were business as usual, December 18, 2008 was by no means a typical Thursday night (or rather, early Friday morning) at Marquee, one of New York City’s hottest clubs. Marquee was celebrating its fifth anniversary. Inside, nightlife impresario Noah Tepperberg, who founded the club with Jason Strauss, made his way around a crowded dance floor, and settled at his regular table in the midst of the club’s main room – a place where he could be found most nights ever since the club first opened. Stars like Jay-Z and Carson Daly had come out to celebrate with Tepperberg, described as a “celebrity to celebrities.”1 Five years was an eternity in the nightlife industry – most clubs were over within their first 18 months – but Tepperberg had succeeded in maintaining Marquee’s status as an of-the-moment club. Meanwhile, his team now also co-managed the Las-Vegas-based nightclubs TAO, TAO Beach and LAVO, and he had expanded the scope of his Strategic Group, a hospitality,...