The Eye of the Storm
Welcome to New York club legend Nur Khan's new nightlife empire.
By Peter Davis
Photographed by Douglas Adesko
Complete chaos -- sloshed supermodels spilling champagne and dancing red-eyed club crawlers -- surrounds Nur Khan. But the 43-year-old New York nightlife impresario sits calmly in the middle of the subterranean lounge of his newly-opened NoLita restaurant Kenmare. Tatted-up and adorned with chunky silver rings, bracelets and necklaces, Khan is practically Zen-like as he surveys the room of rowdy kids rocking out to Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit." Khan's nightlife domination can be attributed to his hat trick of clubs that attract three very different, but confluent, crowds -- Rose Bar's swanky socialites and famous faces, Kenmare's too-cool-for-school kids and Don Hill's dirty rockers. And he is amped to open even more spots. "It's just the tip of the iceberg," he says.
If Khan seems to be everywhere these days -- at a booth surrounded by leggy models and rock star buddies like Axl Rose at Rose Bar at the Gramercy Park Hotel, to dinner with his partner, owner of the former Beatrice Inn, Paul Sevigny at Kenmare, to the mosh pit of Don Hill's -- that's because he is. Every night, he manages to appear at all three of his clubs. And during the day, he, Sevigny and partner Joey Campanaro oversee the newly-formed Downtown Hospitality Management, a company that will open and operate restaurants, clubs and one day, maybe hotels.
Born in New York City to a Pakistani father and a mother who is a mix of French, German, Scottish and Irish descent, Khan was raised in Connecticut. His dad left when he was very young and Khan became the man of his house. His mother worked as a cocktail waitress and life at home was not easy. He moved out when he was 13. "There was a difficult family situation going on," he says, staring down at his salad plate. "I made a decision not to be a part of that." A natural host, Khan wet his feet in the party world by throwing popular shindigs in the backyard of the various houses he rented in Connecticut.
But Khan's first real foray into nightlife was in 1990, when he took over a decrepit theater in Norwalk, Connecticut, and turned it into the Marquee Theater, a successful concert venue that hosted bands like Nirvana, Radiohead and Pearl Jam. At the same time, Khan was commuting to Wall Street, where he worked in finance. In 1994, he sold the Marquee and built Wax, his New York club debut. In 1997 he opened Sway, and in 2003 the Hiro Ballroom at the Maritime Hotel. (Wax has since closed, and Khan sold his shares in Sway and Hiro.) "The day I got my liquor license is the day I left Wall Street," he remembers with a grin. "I always said: I don't want to wake up when I'm 60 and feel like I missed all the fun."
If Khan seems to be everywhere these days -- at a booth surrounded by leggy models and rock star buddies like Axl Rose at Rose Bar at the Gramercy Park Hotel, to dinner with his partner, owner of the former Beatrice Inn, Paul Sevigny at Kenmare, to the mosh pit of Don Hill's -- that's because he is. Every night, he manages to appear at all three of his clubs. And during the day, he, Sevigny and partner Joey Campanaro oversee the newly-formed Downtown Hospitality Management, a company that will open and operate restaurants, clubs and one day, maybe hotels.
Born in New York City to a Pakistani father and a mother who is a mix of French, German, Scottish and Irish descent, Khan was raised in Connecticut. His dad left when he was very young and Khan became the man of his house. His mother worked as a cocktail waitress and life at home was not easy. He moved out when he was 13. "There was a difficult family situation going on," he says, staring down at his salad plate. "I made a decision not to be a part of that." A natural host, Khan wet his feet in the party world by throwing popular shindigs in the backyard of the various houses he rented in Connecticut.
But Khan's first real foray into nightlife was in 1990, when he took over a decrepit theater in Norwalk, Connecticut, and turned it into the Marquee Theater, a successful concert venue that hosted bands like Nirvana, Radiohead and Pearl Jam. At the same time, Khan was commuting to Wall Street, where he worked in finance. In 1994, he sold the Marquee and built Wax, his New York club debut. In 1997 he opened Sway, and in 2003 the Hiro Ballroom at the Maritime Hotel. (Wax has since closed, and Khan sold his shares in Sway and Hiro.) "The day I got my liquor license is the day I left Wall Street," he remembers with a grin. "I always said: I don't want to wake up when I'm 60 and feel like I missed all the fun."
While having fun is certainly Khan's end game, he explains how he manages to remain so mellow amidst the unpredictable craziness of the after-midnight world he inhabits. In 2001, Khan started studying martial arts in London. His teacher referred him to a 1,500-year-old Shaolin Temple in China, and he went on to spend a year in China training with monks five days a week. "It's a challenge in terms of every aspect you can imagine -- physically, mentally," he says, his voice calm, deep and slow. "No ladies in my life for a year. No booze. It was ten hours a day of Kung Fu training, which is married to Ch'an Buddhism, so there is a spiritual side to it. It got me focused. I incorporate it into my life every day." Khan displays his Blackberry screen, with its endless log roll of emails from every bold face name in New York. He says he sleeps with his phone on silent on the pillow next to him in bed and wakes up and starts returning emails and messages. "I'm a much calmer person," he claims, and says that he still practices Buddhism daily. "I just try and be a lot more relaxed in a very high paced, frenetic city. I look at things at a much slower pace now. I don't react as quickly as I used to."
And this approach seems to be working for him. The re-boot of Don Hill's is his most exciting, ambitious project to date. Khan has already lured Guns and Roses, The Black Keys, The Kooks and The Cult to perform surprise, very VIP gigs at Rose Bar and having Don Hill's, which is rigged and ready for live music, is a dream come true. Khan and partner Sevigny envision Don Hill's as a modern version of historic spots like Max's Kansas City, The Mudd Club and CBGB. They aim to bring back the raw, rough edges of New York. "We want to go back to old school," he explains. "We are keeping Don around because he is family. We put some money into the place. But it's a really down and dirty nightclub and we're going to drop fantastic acts in from time to time and people are going to go, 'How the fuck did those guys get those people play in that room?" Khan knows everyone in this town, so expect big name acts playing in a small, intimate room. "I've developed a lot of relationships with bands. I take good care of them. They in turn always stand by me. It's a nice symbiosis."
Khan says New York is different since he first got into the club world almost two decades ago. "It's changed drastically," he says. "Back then downtown was downtown and uptown was uptown. It was a little gnarlier, edgier downtown. They did their thing and we did our thing. It became more homogenized over time. Uptown wanted to be a part of the excitement downtown." Khan is not a fan of the "models and bottles" scene, referring to big spenders shelling out big bucks for table service at slick clubs. "I'm trying to go in completely another direction and go back to the basics. People don't mind a hot, sweaty dance room. It's about the energy. Some of these kids haven't had a chance to see that -- what old New York was. I know I miss it. And I want to bring that back."
With small rooms, come tighter velvet ropes and not just anyone can breeze past the doormen at Khan's spots. "You've got to be careful to maintain ratios," he says, as if explaining a mathematical equation. "A ten person group is 10 percet of your whole room and that makes a serious impact. You have to make sure it's a good looking room with the right mix."
Up next, Khan says, is the possibility of opening a hotel or two. "That's a logical progression. Ian Schrager obviously started that game and look at his background. It's nightlife, Studio 54 and Palladium. If you can do it all under one roof, it seems to be a formula that works for the cool hotels." Khan twists a large Gothic silver ring on his finger. He seems antsy for the night to begin. People start poring through the doors of Kenmare and tables are filling up. "I don't limit myself to anything," he says glancing around at the crowd of pretty people. "It's my time, man. I'm ready."
And this approach seems to be working for him. The re-boot of Don Hill's is his most exciting, ambitious project to date. Khan has already lured Guns and Roses, The Black Keys, The Kooks and The Cult to perform surprise, very VIP gigs at Rose Bar and having Don Hill's, which is rigged and ready for live music, is a dream come true. Khan and partner Sevigny envision Don Hill's as a modern version of historic spots like Max's Kansas City, The Mudd Club and CBGB. They aim to bring back the raw, rough edges of New York. "We want to go back to old school," he explains. "We are keeping Don around because he is family. We put some money into the place. But it's a really down and dirty nightclub and we're going to drop fantastic acts in from time to time and people are going to go, 'How the fuck did those guys get those people play in that room?" Khan knows everyone in this town, so expect big name acts playing in a small, intimate room. "I've developed a lot of relationships with bands. I take good care of them. They in turn always stand by me. It's a nice symbiosis."
Khan says New York is different since he first got into the club world almost two decades ago. "It's changed drastically," he says. "Back then downtown was downtown and uptown was uptown. It was a little gnarlier, edgier downtown. They did their thing and we did our thing. It became more homogenized over time. Uptown wanted to be a part of the excitement downtown." Khan is not a fan of the "models and bottles" scene, referring to big spenders shelling out big bucks for table service at slick clubs. "I'm trying to go in completely another direction and go back to the basics. People don't mind a hot, sweaty dance room. It's about the energy. Some of these kids haven't had a chance to see that -- what old New York was. I know I miss it. And I want to bring that back."
With small rooms, come tighter velvet ropes and not just anyone can breeze past the doormen at Khan's spots. "You've got to be careful to maintain ratios," he says, as if explaining a mathematical equation. "A ten person group is 10 percet of your whole room and that makes a serious impact. You have to make sure it's a good looking room with the right mix."
Up next, Khan says, is the possibility of opening a hotel or two. "That's a logical progression. Ian Schrager obviously started that game and look at his background. It's nightlife, Studio 54 and Palladium. If you can do it all under one roof, it seems to be a formula that works for the cool hotels." Khan twists a large Gothic silver ring on his finger. He seems antsy for the night to begin. People start poring through the doors of Kenmare and tables are filling up. "I don't limit myself to anything," he says glancing around at the crowd of pretty people. "It's my time, man. I'm ready."
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Posted at 3:15 on Nov 04, 2010
WE Love him, is the best thing for new york!!!!