Alex Garcia, one of the partners at The Social, (aka, "The Dude With The Hat" and "Let Me Buy You a Shot!" Man) Photo: Alex Garcia
After months and months of missed dates and issues with permits and non-stop rumors and speculation, it looks like the long awaited new nightlife venue, “The Social” is set to open this Friday, May 18th. The club, a partnership by Laura Olson and Chris Pardo of The Pterodactyl Group (Po Dog, Grimm’s) and famed Capitol Hill socialite/social media tycoon Alex Garcia has had more ups and downs than a two dollar hooker on a roller coaster and many speculated that it might never open. But, after a rocky start in 2011 and some changes in the partnership including the addition of restaurateur Todd Nordahl, formerly of The Rosebud, who assumed control and ownership of the restaurant portion of the planned project, which eventually became EVO Tapas Kitchen & Cabaret, the venue began to take shape. The doors to The Social are set to open Friday night at 8pm with the first installment of “Carnaval” the new monthly event from Sinfinite Productions (ElektroPOP!). Here’s the poo from the Facebook invite:
Every THIRD FRIDAY at The Social, Sinfinite invites you into a vibrant dance party of HUGE proportions…we bring the festival to you with a parade of HOT top 40 beats and mashups, Seattle’s SEXIEST gogo dancers, and colorful performers…all led by your hostess for the evening, the MAGNIFICENT Taylor Couture!
We’re turning up the heat and shaking things up on Friday nights! Each month its a dance floor explosion of beads, feathers, streamers, and confetti….a celebration in honor of YOU and all your friends!
Music From:
DJ Bret Law – DJ Sammy LaForge – DJ Trent Von● Shot Specials
● Themed Specialty Cocktails
● Live Performances
● Beautiful Male/Female Dancers
● Masks & Colorful Attire Encouraged
…AND at last call experience the “Fiesta Final” Parade of Beads!
Free cover with purchase of drink before 9pm, $5 before 10pm, $8 after
We also had a sit down yak yak with Alex Garcia, one of The Social partners, a couple weeks ago to get the skinny on WTF was going on with the Never Ending Story of The Social, and what other tricks Mr. Garcia might have up his sleeve. It was an illuminating conversation and full of Mr. Garcia’s endless optimism.
SGS: Why open a night club in Seattle? What’s your motivation?
Alex Garcia: I just like to have fun…when you go to New York, or WeHo, or San Francisco there’s always somewhere to go to have fun regardless of what night of the week it is…on Mondays or Tuesdays or Wednesdays even, there’s always something available. I want to shift the mentality of Seattle so they can go out and have fun any night of the week. I want to create my own version of WeHo on Capitol Hill.
SGS: Obviously the opening of a new night life venue makes other existing bars and clubs nervous.
AG: There’s room for everybody! I’m very transparent and I have no hidden agenda. People LIKE to bar crawl and we want to encourage that. Make your nightly rounds whether it’s starting at Purr and heading to Lobby or R Place or Cuff or Neighbors. And, I’m going to create an Olive Stretch Bar Crawl that unites all the bars and clubs on Olive Way…start at the Crescent and move up the hill to Elite and Bus Stop and Tommy Gun and CC’s and The Social.
SGS: Still…you’re a big new club. That can’t make other big clubs very happy.
AG: I’m not competitive! I love going to all kinds of bars and I’ll keep on doing that. I love diversity…I love going to Diesel because it’s a whole new culture for me, a different group of people for me to meet and hang out with. I think people should just go out and try new things and experience different places… And, I think having new places open up is GOOD for the older places because competition drives innovation. In the last few months, several older clubs have started new nights and new events…it’s all good for everyone!
SGS: What is The Social? Is it a gay club? It’s not a small space…you’re going to need a lot of bodies in there.
AG: Everyone is welcome at The Social! All people, gay or straight, will feel comfortable. We want it to be a place where everyone can come in with their friends and have a good time. I don’t like it when people try to turn it into a “Gay versus Straight” thing when it comes to night life. It’s all about having fun.
SGS: What can we expect when The Social opens? What do you have in store?
AG: It’s a soft opening…we’ll do a Grand Opening later on. Sinfinite Productions will be producing Friday and Saturday night events for us and Ruckus will do Thursday nights and DJ Skiddle will program Wednesday nights. And, we’re still deciding what we want to do the rest of the week. We’re also working on our plans for Pride Weekend with Jimmy and Arden from Sinfinite.
SGS: What’s your mission?
AG: I like having fun and want everyone else to have fun as well! We’re all part of a great community and we should just embrace that!
