Thursday, Aug. 13, 2009
get your drink! on at former gypsy's
Hand Grenade, - Photo by Corey O'Reilly Kissel
At least two of the friendly faces that greeted customers at the Clubhouse Myrtle Beach (closed this spring) will again promote nightlife, food and live music at the site of another past downtown Myrtle Beach hot spot, the once very popular Gypsy's. Kris Amendola, ex-bartender at the Clubhouse Myrtle Beach, has leased the location at 501 Eighth Ave. North, and re-named the club Drink!, not to be confused with Dr.Ink's Tavern of Surfside Beach.
Gypsy's, which opened in 1999 and closed in 2003, was once a trendy nightspot featuring live music including regulars on the blues circuit such as Tinsley Ellis and even a performance by legendary drummer Levon Helm of the band. Drink! will also host blues, jazz and a variety of local, regional and national acts as well as serve food and help with the growth of the Myrtle Beach downtown area beginning with a grand opening celebration 8 p.m. Friday, featuring four live bands and a deejay. Amendola's brother, Joey Amendola, will revive his duties as promotion/booking manager, a job he performed for the Clubhouse. He's already made contact with some of the same bands that were regulars at the Clubhouse. Friday's grand opening will feature Hand Grenade, the Old Scobes, SAVAS, Pure Cult [a Cult tribute act of which Joey Amendola is a member] and DJ Fracture.
At the so called Super-Block section of downtown Myrtle Beach, formed at the intersections of Main Street, Eighth Avenue North, Oak Street and U.S. 17 Business, the young and/or hip gather to party, shop and eat in a diverse multi-cultural, multi-use region, which can sometime resemble college-town areas within other cities. Though smaller in scope than Columbia's Five Points or Atlanta's Virginia-Highland neighborhood, the Super-Block is a regular gathering place for teens, young adults and those not interested in the mainstream. Here multiple night spots co-exist, including Time Out! and The Rainbow House, which keep company with Crazy J's and The Basement, along with a few eclectic retail shops such as Palmetto Studios, Kilgore Trout's,and Corsair Comics, among others. Sun City Café, Royal Thai Restaurant and a dozen additional businesses round out the offerings of this distinctive commercial zone, and Drink! should not only benefit from the uniqueness of the area, but also add its own flavor, as did Gypsy's for several seasons. "We're going to do an open mike jazz and blues night every Wednesday featuring Vince Peeples [of Painted Man]," said Joey Amendola. "We'll have a sit-down dining room featuring Japanese Hibachi, and sushi plus an American menu," he said. "Our sushi chef, Pickett Streblow, has been making Sushi for 12 years at the beach. He was at Paradise [Sushi Bar] in North Myrtle Beach and Daruma Japanese Restaurant for years. We'll have an English pub room with pool, darts, video games, booths, lots of dark wood, and greens. We'll also have an art gallery with Robin Roberts of Palmetto Studios as our curator. A fourth room on the front side will be surfing oriented, with lounge chairs - a real laid back vibe."
When asked if parking may be an issue for some patrons, Amendola raised a good point. "There's plenty of parking on the streets all around - it's city-style, where you might have to walk a half a block or a block, but it's no different than having to park at the far end of Broadway at the Beach's parking lot to get to the clubs on a busy weekend night. You probably won't have as far to walk when coming to our club."
The Amendolas will not stray too far from the live music format, which worked so well for Gypsy's. "On the weekends - all live music," said Joey Amendola. "We're just starting to book beyond Friday's grand opening, and we've got the jazz and blues thing every Wednesday." Kris Amendola says she feels up to the daunting task of re-opening a club that has been dormant for many years and understands that the burden of its success lies on her shoulders. "This is my first venture as a club owner," she said. "I've owned my own businesses before but not in the service industry, though I do have a lot of experience." With the bands booked, the rooms repainted, and the kitchen stocked, the stage is set for Drink! to join the many other eclectic establishments in Myrtle Beach's Super-Block.
Doors open at 4 p.m. Friday, show at 8 p.m. There is a $5 cover charge for 18-and-older.
