Hospitality Design - May 2014 - 156

perspectives

interview tao group
6. LAVO Las Vegas' new
upstairs library-inspired
lounge "is comfortable
and inviting, with a
sprinkle of conversation
pieces-avant garde art,
antiques, and one-ofa-kind light fixtures,"
explains designer Hayley
Hunter.

the whole orientation to being a true electronic
music, DJ-focused nightclub. The sound and
the way we set up the stage, and ripping off
the roof to create enough ceiling space to get
the drama and the sightline needed from a
mezzanine to see a DJ booth stage, was all part
of delivering that experience.

6
everyone a new TAO experience by changing
the sight lines of the whole room-it's now
focused just at one place, which allows for more
dramatic opportunities for big DJ and artist
performances. It speaks to our bigger message:
We embrace change and continue to evolve our
experience for guests. We're putting our money
where our mouth is.
RW: The two TAOs want to be completely
different from each other. But we're taking the
best of what we've created at TAO Downtown
and we're now going to use that and freshen
up the menu, the uniforms, and anything else
that's valid in Vegas. To Jason's point, we're
constantly evolving and trying to keep things
fresh for our guests so that we don't fade away
one day. We want to stay ever-present.

You are also redoing TAO restaurant's
lounge and just ﬁnished an overhaul of
LAVO Las Vegas late last year. Can you
tell us about those renovations?
RW: The lounge is going to be completely

different-I'd call it an Asian bordello. We've
changed the whole lighting scheme, the walls,
and we're changing out the furniture. About
the only thing that we did not touch was
the bar itself. The lounge served a different
purpose years ago. Late at night, it was almost
an extension of the nightclub. Now we're
making it much more intimate and warm, and
more of an extension of the restaurant than of
the nightclub.
JS: With LAVO restaurant's momentum,
we truly just didn't have enough seats to

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May 2014 hospitalitydesign.com

accommodate our guests. We made a conscious
effort to take the lounge area of the restaurant
and extend the dining room into that area. By
doing so, we added probably 30 percent more
seating to our restaurant to accommodate the
demand, but it also left us void of what our
group is known for: sexy restaurant lounges.
We made a decision to bring the lounge
experience upstairs [where the nightclub
was]. Instead of making this a LAVO boutique
nightclub, we turned it into a really intimate,
sexy lounge-it has this modern, chic library
feel. The library thing has been done a bunch
of times, obviously, but we've done it in a way
that really is contemporary, relevant, and chic
and hip. Nowhere in Vegas is there this mature,
sexy lounge experience where a group can
come in, have a conversation, still listen to good
music, and feel they're at the 'It' spot. Not only
does it act as an extension of the restaurant,
as a lounge for the restaurant as people are
waiting to get seated, but people are actually
eating there. Then after 11:30 or midnight, it
really becomes this nightlife lounge experience.
We worked with locally based designer Hayley
Hunter, who has done some of the cooler bars
and lounges in downtown Vegas.

Let's go back to New York. After being
open for a decade, which is unheard of
in the nightclub world, you brought in
Held to renovate Marquee last year.
JS: Marquee was a complete departure from

its old positioning. Before it was a scene-driven,
who's who, open-format nightclub. We changed

And you launched a new concept,
Arlington Club, designed by ICRAVE.
It's your spin on a steakhouse with a
steakhouse-sushi menu.
RW: We don't like to do things that are

expected. I could probably name 80 percent of
the items on every steakhouse menu in New
York, from the creamed spinach, to the New
York cheesecake, to the New York strip, to the
petit filet mignon, to the surf and turf, Caesar
salad, wedge salad, and mashed potatoes.
The menus are all the same, and they're
predictable. There's nothing really all that
interesting about them. We're always looking
for angles to break new ground.
JS: Also, we have an Italian restaurant, we
have an Asian-themed restaurant-for us to do
steak in New York was a logical step for us.

I know you always have new concepts
brewing. What do you see as next for
the F&B and nightclub world?
RW: I'm watching the ramen trend. I find it

very interesting. There are these cool ramen
places that keep popping up, and they're very
busy. On one hand, the price point is a little bit
low. On the other hand, the cost of goods sold is
also low. I don't know if it's something that can
generate the kind of revenue we're accustomed
to, but I'm definitely curious about it.
JS: For us on the nightclub side, we were
the first group to pioneer the whole big DJ
movement in Vegas and bring it to a stylized
level in New York with Marquee. I think the
next movement will be into more theatrical
experiences with productions in addition to
the music-much like what the festivals are
doing, to bring that to an on-premise type of
experience. That's where we're going to be
looking to go in the future. hd
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