Durham nightclubs target undergrad scene

It's a Saturday night, 35 degrees or colder, and the line outside Parizade is 50 deep.

Inside, the line to the bar isn't much better. But next door, Verde is strangely vacant. A few people go in to warm up, but no one seems willing to fully move their revelry to the adjacent club.

It's a strange phenomenon, then, given the number of choices in and around Durham, that students flock to this venerable triumvirate of night options: Shooters II, Parizade and Devine's Restaurant and Sports Bar.

Greek social chairs, however, said they aren't necessarily wedded to the locations their organizations-and the student body on the whole-visit most.

"Certainly some sororities and fraternities have places they frequent more often," said sophomore Rachel Wolf, social chair for Alpha Phi sorority. "We try to spread out our events because people get tired of going to the same place weekend after weekend. We look for places with a fun vibe."

That was one of the biggest factors Alpha Phi members discussed when deciding where to host their pledge class' bid night this year, she added. The sorority ultimately settled on Metro 8, located on Ninth Street.

"Shooters is a great location, but we wanted to try something a bit new for our girls," Wolf said. "Metro 8 is one of the newer places on the Duke social scene. But it's really all about the relationships we have."

Indeed, it is sometimes the efforts by venues to cultivate long-term links with on-campus organizations that matter most in determining where students merrymake.

"We only charge $5 a person-cheapest in the Triangle," said Kenneth Johnson, a Shooters employee who runs the shuttle. "It's been mostly students who don't want to wait on a cab. We run out of three locations from Duke."

Often, though, business success is a question of location or a particular effort by owners to appeal to students.

Gene Devine, Trinity '75, considered both when he opened Devine's in 1978.

"Proximity was certainly a factor," he said. "I played football at Duke-there was nothing around off campus 30 years ago, when most people just went to Chapel Hill. So I just tried to push the envelope to keep students around in Durham."

He also said he thought his interactions with students were different than some of the other nightlife proprietors.

"I talk to the students every day," he said.

Devine said it was students who approached him to advertise and sell T-shirts supporting the lacrosse team, reading, "Duke Lacrosse-First Annual Witch Hunt. Evidence is Overrated."

"That had nothing really to do with me, but I was happy to do it," Devine said. "I played sports at Duke, so of course I support the lacrosse team-I have from the beginning. People talk about this whole town-gown thing, but I am town-gown."

Cates, herself a Durham native, said when her nightclub opened in 1999, it was aimed toward locals-but students "kind of took over." She said she took an approach similar to Devine's when the lacrosse team came under scrutiny.

"They've supported us, so we feel like we should support them, too," she said. "There's been a sign, 'Innocent Until Proven Guilty,' in the club from the beginning. It will not be taken down, probably ever. And all the bartenders wear wristbands to support the team."

Prominent Triangle restaurateur Giorgios Bakatsias, owner of Giorgios Hospitality Group-a cartel that in addition to Parizade also includes Verde, Vin Rouge, George's Garage and G-Loft-said he thought the appeal of his venues is a result of presentation and the mood they offer.

"For upscale events, Parizade is very popular," Bakatsias said. "[Students] want an upscale experience where the service is there, the quality is there, the ambience."

Bakatsias is less concerned about competition like Shooters and Devine's than he is about perfecting his own restaurant group.

"I don't know what [other venues' owners] do but I've heard the student body has functions there," Bakatsias said. "If they want to go there, they go there."

Sung said chairs often have to make booking decisions based on financial concerns rather than the atmosphere a particular venue has to offer.

"We've just started doing more things at Sirens [Lounge] because they have a cheaper room fee," he said. "We have students coming from the East Coast and big cities where the clubs are really posh, so we consider how we can turn a space into something they haven't seen before."

There are, however, a few nonconformists who are willing to sacrifice the opportunity to ride a mechanical bull amid dozens of sweaty, tightly packed onlookers.

"I try to avoid Shooters if there's a better alternative," said freshman Erin Franz. "Because Shooters is gross."

Caroline McGeough contributed to this story.