Daily Style Phile: Armin Amiri, Die-Hard Doorman, Reborn In SoHo Bar

by Ross Kenneth Urken · January 12, 2011

    Armin Amiri, the former Bungalow 8 doorman, is slated  to set up shop next month at the entrance of the new bar in SoHo's Mondrian New York. Are you in the know about Amiri's epic sway on the nightlife circuit?

    Amiri--along with Wass Stevens of Marquee  and Maurizio Ferrigno of Upstairs at Cipriani Downtown--is part of the cohort of doormen who were the stars and part owners of clubs. At their apex circa five years ago, they were movers and shakers who thrived on the nightlife circuit where bottle service emerged as a nightlife king (galvanized by Strategic Group's Noah Tepperberg and his Marquee--recently addressed in an exclusive GofG interview). Gaining recognition as Amy Sacco's whip at Bungalow 8, when 27th St. bathed in success, Amiri soon launched his own Cuban-infusion club in space he rented from the Jane called Socialista (since vacated and reinvented as the Jane Ballroom).

    Though his Socialista project fell flat and Amiri has avoided the schmooze-fest and face-control endemic to doorman work since that 2009 shuttering, this new SoHo gig at the as-yet-unamed bar, as the Post reports, has true promise.

    Amiri, of course, is notoriously connected, and his nightlife buddy Mickey  Rourke hooked him up with a part in "The Wrestler."

    Amiri played Dr. Moayedizadeh," the physician who brings Rourke's character the troubling news about his heart. Nightlife mishaps may seem trifling for Amiri, given that his father was arrested and held in Iran for helping his son flee the country 20 years ago. This new challenge at the  Mondrian looks like it could be Amiri's next big rebound.

    As the Feast spins it, Socialista may have paved the way for his current auspicious situation: "That venue  [Socialista] presaged the current hotel-nightlife complex that remains a top celebrity and model draw today at spots like the Ace Hotel lobby. The Standard's Le Bain and the Jane's current party destination, the Jane Ballroom."

    This is something of a reckoning for Amiri, given his incredible nightlife buoyancy; he tends to pop up and stay afloat no matter how many times he's been pushed down. Does this signal the return of the doorman power sidekick in New York night life? And if so, how will that play out as hot clubs are increasingly prevalent within hotels.

    See also:

    [Armin Amiri Likes Fresh Juice]

    [Six Degrees Of Mickey Rourke Continued]

    [Six Degrees of Mickey Rourke: A Doorman Case Study]

    [Socialista Set To Unleash A New Exclusive Diner So We Can Enjoy Our Comfort Foods More Comfortably]

    [Image via NYMag]