San Francisco Nightlife: Featured Location
Supperclub San Francisco
by Brendan Rogers
Photography by Luke Stevens
The evolution of nightlife.
For at least 30 years the format of a night out has not changed much. The familiar scene of a darkened room, crowded full of people dancing to a DJ mixing vinyl discs of prerecorded analog music is familiar all over the world. Most of the technology and design in the modern night club are interpretations of concepts developed by a few musical pioneers of the disco era.
In the time since, the modern nightclub has moved away from its roots of intimacy though music and became the super club. The impersonal atmosphere created by throngs of people, rude staff, filthy bathrooms and a DJ literally elevated to god status, severed his or her connection to the audience and destroyed the real revolutionary power of DJ culture, the shared experience.
So how does one bring it on home? How does one make a nightlife experience as fresh and engaging as it once was without living in the past? How do we embrace the future, in our weekends without sacrificing the traditions laid down by a hundred thousand perfect nights out?
There is a place in San Francisco that is taking it there. It is called the Supperclub, not to be confused with a super club, the Supperclub is not a nightclub at all. It is “a restaurant that sometimes feels like a club, but the idea here is to break down all barriers in celebration.” says Alex Lustberg co owner of Supperclub San Francisco.
Basically it works like this, for a very reasonable flat rate a five course meal is served to guests on large beds in the main room. From these beds you will watch your food be prepared, you will see all manner of visual performance and you will see and hear some sort of musical entertainment. When dinner is over later in the evening, the doors are open to a later crown to enjoy an ongoing music experience. The mixing of these two crowds is interesting and creates a natural feeling of progression as the evening changes gear.
Supperclub San Francisco is the creation of two college friends (Alex Lustberg and Tad Glauthier) that stumbled into the Amsterdam version of the club and decided to bring it to SF.
This “restaurant” has upped the anti in San Francisco nightlife by creating an experience that engages all five senses. This is done on a few different fronts, design, visual performance, art, audio performance, service, fine food and drink.
