The party's on. Nectar's, the new music club in what used to be Outerland, will introduce its team to the Island with a free open house tomorrow night, when local musicians will be featured on the main stage.
Nectar's owners: cool, savvy, and ready to rock. From left, Jason Gelrud, Noel Donnellan, Christopher Walsh, general manager Alex Budney, and Peter Picard. Photo by Ralph Stewart
"We want to create a place where everyone can come hang out and feel comfortable, whether there's a big band or a local band on stage," says Jason Gelrud, who co-owns the club with Noel Donnellan, Christopher Walsh, and Peter Picard.
Local music is integral to the Nectar's blueprint, established at the other existing Nectar's club in Burlington, Vermont. Both from a business perspective - culling local talent could help the venue remain open year-round - and from the philosophical - Nectar's has been a starting place for many local Burlington bands, including Phish, the world-famous jam band.
"Basically, wherever there's good music - because local music is very important to us - and college kids, I think Nectar's will thrive," Mr. Walsh says. "I think our brand represents a lifestyle which is micro-brewed beer, Phish, festivals, kids who go to liberal arts colleges with a little bit of money, but love music and a semi-decadent lifestyle - little heady hipsters."
Nectar's has leased the property for the summer from brothers Barry Rosenthal of West Tisbury and Arthur Rosenthal of Wellesley, who for three years owned and operated Outerland, which is located at the Martha's Vineyard Airport.
"It gives us a chance to test drive a Ferrari without plunking down a lot of money," Mr. Walsh says. "It also helps the Rosenthals out because they weren't able to sell it, and they were going to be dark all summer. We'd like to break even and show our investors the potential here and get them behind it, and purchase it."
It's a streamlined approach. As in Burlington, the club owners will focus on atmosphere and music. "We're a music venue that serves food, we're not a high-end restaurant that also has some entertainment," Mr. Walsh says. The club will serve bar food - burgers, wings, its popular gravy fries. "Food you can eat while you're listening to a band blast in your ears.
"I think Outerland tried to do too many things," Mr. Walsh says. "When we walked into this place we felt that it had an identity crisis. They did a great job, put a lot of money into the place, but trying to be a high-end restaurant and do music just seemed like too much."
Barry Rosenthal, who currently resides in Dedham, agrees that they overextended themselves. "I think we tried too much too quickly. I think the food aspect was too ambitious. We had not been in the business, that was one of the biggest things."
Mona Rosenthal, who was married to Mr. Rosenthal and ran many of the day-to-day aspects of the club, explains, "There were so many things that we had to come up to speed with. By the third year we really had a grip on the expenses and the costs, but we just couldn't keep going and sinking money into it. Also, the economy last summer really put a dent into the things we were doing."
Both Rosenthals are optimistic about the new venture, citing experience. "Economy providing, I think they'll be very successful," Mr. Rosenthal says. "They've got good bar food, they know how to run a club, and they know how to get the buzz out there."
Nectar's was founded in 1975 by Nector Rorris, who ran the club until selling it to Mr. Walsh and a partner in 2003. Following a recent split, Mr. Walsh brought in Mr. Gelrud and Mr. Donnellan with whom he operated a spring break party business in Jamaica for more than a decade.
"We have good chemistry," Mr. Walsh says, "and we've done nothing but put on huge concerts in third world countries for 10 years, so this is like a dream compared to the conditions we were used to."
But even in ideal conditions, the music club business can be a slippery slope. "It's like gambling in Vegas," Mr. Walsh says. "Once you're in the hole you start making desperate moves that usually put you further in the hole. We're going to do bigger and bigger things if the numbers are here."
The Sierra Leone's Refugee All-Stars will headline the first ticketed show on Monday, June 29.
An ongoing concern is that summer crowds won't be willing to pay the ticket prices that go along with big-name performers. "The bigger the act, the bigger the circus that comes with it, and that all costs money," says Mr. Walsh, explaining that large acts, such as Crosby, Stills, and Nash, can cost upwards of $75,000. "And that's before the helicopter and 20 hotel rooms."
As a result, the majority of the ticket sales go to the band. When asked how the club makes money, the owners simultaneously point to the bar.
"A lot of it has to do with the Islanders," Mr. Walsh says. "We'll show them love if they show us love, and it will just turn into a big love fest."
Nectar's (formerly Outerland), Friday, June 26, 8 pm, Airport Road. Open house with local performers; comedy with Nicole Carey.
Saturday, June 27, 8 pm, Kahoots, Loira Burra, Scarce. $10.
Monday, June 29, 8 pm, Sierra Leone's Refugee All-Stars. $20; $15 advance. 866-468-7619; nectarsmv.com.
