The music here is true to the name of the venue. Quick: Think of one of your all-time favorite 80's dance tunes. Over the course of any given evening, it is probably going to be played at Studio Eighty, and very likely to be played against a backdrop of the song's official music video, too. Do you want to dance to Billie Jean by Michael Jackson? Check: It will be played!
Into the Groove by Madonna? Check.
Don't You Want Me? by Human League? Check.
Celebration by Kool and The Gang? Push It by Salt-N-Pepa? Check and check!!
A full service bar and an attentive wait staff keep the adult libations flowing at prices around what you would expect for a nightclub in a downtown setting. There is a cover charge at the door for men ($10), but women are admitted without any cover charge. There is plenty of seating, a good dance floor with multiple points of entry and exit, decent bathroom-stall availability, and, although inside the club is smoke-free, there is a comfortable, weather-neutral, outside, seated lounge area where smokers can smoke.
THERE IS NO KITCHEN at Studio Eighty, so make sure you eat before you party.
On the Friday night of my birthday, the demographic across the club was surprisingly varied in age: My guess is that the youngest partiers were in their mid-20s, and the oldest were likely in their 60s. There was a good mix of men and women. There were parties of groups of friends like mine, parties of men-only and women-only participants, as well as couples and singles galore. Oh, and ball caps of any sort are not welcome.
Ethnically that evening, the demographic in the club skewed mostly European-American, Asian-American, and Hispanic-American. (Please take that last statement only for informational purposes. While many people long for the day when race or ethnicity doesn't matter, the fact is that for purposes of clubs and churches, these classifications are still key decision factors. So, I am simply offering my perception for information in a Yelp review.)
If you plan to hold a party at Studio Eighty, they will take reservations if you go down to the club during the week between 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. and give them a deposit. Email them through their Web site and they will email you all the details in advance. If your party goes on as planned, the VALUE OF your deposit (not the cash money itself) will be available to you as bar credit for the night of the party only. Now, this is where Studio Eighty screwed up. When I went to the venue on a weekday afternoon about two weeks before my party, they manager said I could apply my deposit toward the cover charge. My deposit was $120 for four high-top tables. "Cool," I said. "That means the cover charges for the first 12 male guests to my party will be covered." The manager confirmed that was how it would work. And that is the information I put into my party invitation.
On the night of my party, my S.O. and I arrived around 8:45 p.m., early enough to set up. As we walked up to the cashier, she asked me for a $10 cover charge. Whoa Nelly!! I explained that unless 11 of my male guests had already arrived -- highly unlikely since the party invitations were for 9:30 p.m. -- then my cover charge should be covered by the $120 deposit I had made two weeks prior. The cashier was polite and apologetic, but informed me she had no such instructions or information. She called over a manager ... not the one with whom I had set things up with, in person, two weeks ago. This manager said that cover-charge credit was not an option for use of the value of an advance deposit, and that he was only aware of the option for it to be applied as bar credit. Keeping my cool, I firmly insisted that, be that as it may, that, in reliance on the other manager's assurance, I had made this an important feature of my party invitation. After a couple more back-and-forth comments, eventually this Friday-night manager said he would do what he could to uphold the assurance of the two-weeks-ago manager. I thanked him and went on with my party.
Frankly, I do not know how it all worked out with the venue applying the value of my deposit to the cover charges of my male guests. I'm a lover not a fighter!! I had an epic party regardless, with 20-25 of my friends showing up throughout the evening, at least half of which were men. With apologies to Prince, that night we all partied like it was 1989!! The reason I am sharing with you this aspect of my experience with Studio Eighty is because I hope the club stands behind the first manager's assurance to me and allows application of deposit values to cover charges. It makes so much sense, should not be difficult to manage with guest lists or code words or some other method to enable specific people to gain prepaid entry. Once they are inside, they can (and most likely will) buy their own drinks. read more