A Subpar Host For A King
[Photo via Joonbug]
I have a secret, and I might as well share. First of all, anyone that knows me, knows of my obsession for all thing club kids…though most of them have no idea where this came from, me being basically the opposite of what you would conjure up in your head upon thinking of those crazy kooky bastards that roamed the city’s nights before Guiliani, before 9-11, before Wholefoods. They were simply crazy, and crazily simple in that regard. But this is not a post about the club kids, who are still around in various forms of Kenny Kenny, Richie Rich, Motherfucker, Heatherette, and young hipsters. This is about a man. A man that depending on the time, and the writer, could be called an award winning club designer, club kid wrangler, doorman, fashion designer (back in the 80s), and night life king…and now, we can add blogger to the list. Yet Steve doesn’t fit any of these…at least for me.
For me, Steve Lewis is and always will be in a class all alone. I couldn’t tell my New York coming of age story without Steve at the start. Forget the bottles, the models, and the velvet ropes…for me Steve was a friend. Nothing more and nothing less. Though, in the beginning months of a move to any new city (especially New York), a simple, trustworthy and caring friend is no less than magical. NY Mag and DBTH were both right to welcome Steve to the world of blogging (I’ve been on vacation obviously), citing the obvious club Life in his description. DBTH was right in at least pointing towards the obvious, Joonbug is a subpar host for such a king, while NY Mag talks about all things Mansion. But they both have failed to show you Steve, the real Steve, not the “Life” or “Tunnel” Steve…which is what I hope to do.
Fast forward to 2008, I am stable, happy, and (at least comparably I think) successful to my peers. But before the dinners at Waverly, the nights at Rose bar, and the several friends to choose for my Sunday brunch companions, there was just a girl from the middle of nowhere, in a big and lonely city. Steve Lewis was, I think, the 5th person I met here. It was my second day in the city and I was still overly excited about my sushi take in order, one of the many things in which I was deprived of in my midwestern city. Steve came to take my other newly met friend out. It was opening night of HOME. Steve designed HOME, the club that is of course still right there in the middle of the 27th street shitshow, a club that no longer holds the exclusive air that new clubs do, though you will still find Steve upstairs in the back tables to the left of the bar or chatting it up with Kenny Kenny outside….Loyalty is a word that comes to mind immediately, not just in his actions regarding “dried up” clubs he still frequents, but in his good will and friendship to me.
Steve Lewis never went to college. He never held a “real” job (the corporate kind)…And he never did get married…though he has a nack for fatherhood. (The kind you find in men that distinguishes them from others.) One of my most fond memories with Steve was at the Bronx Zoo, a place he frequents often. (Note: he does have a beautiful long term girlfriend so there may be wedding bells in the future.) Steve never drinks and he rarely travels, (in this way I always thought of him as belonging to our city), yet Steve Lewis has LIVED. He’s lived among Peter Gatian, Michael Alig, and James St. James. And he’s lived more than any predecessor of his has as of yet. For over 20 years the clubs he’s operated have dominated the NYC scene. His bio includes the director of such iconic clubs as Tunnel, Palladium, Limelight, SPA, Redzone, The World (E. 2nd Street), Plaid, USA, The Palace De Beaute, and many many more including of course Life, perhaps his most well known.
In 2001 he launched Steve Lewis Design and began an award-winning interior design career. His portfolio includes Butter (for which he won ‘Best New Restaurant Design’ from Timeout Magazine), Marquee, Home, Guesthouse, Amalia (Restaurant), Aspen (restaurant), Stone Lotus (Chicago), Opium Room at Tao Las Vegas, WESC – Flagship store, Shampoo (Philadelphia), The Room at Harry O’s (Park City, Utah), and over fifty other successful projects. [From Goodnight Mr. Lewis].
But Steve Lewis has lived life in more ways than the club business. I know I’m not the only one that can count on Steve for a smile and hug at a random meetup, an invite to a Thanksgiving dinner in the city if alone, a Christmas text: “Merry Christmas kid“, and a good wish sent out on my behalf to the universe at large. That’s just Steve for you, simple, warm, and above all LOYAL. His character traits transcend far beyond any club owner or operator I’ve met. Steve Lewis will always be “Uncle Stevie” to me, and not in some weird perverse and perverted way. Uncle Steve because he, if even for a very short period, was the only family I had here. So, Uncle Stevie, welcome to the blog world, and if you’re reading, let’s finally do that dinner we’ve been talking about, we have a LOT to catch up on.
[Goodnight, Mr. Lewis]
[Remembering Those That Came Before Us]
[Club Kids' Style Still Relevant]
[Profile: Kenny Kenny]
[Richie Rich Rocks Our World]
[Passing Over The Torch]
[Steve Lewis Design]
Email Post
|