From supper clubs and sporting clubs to Asian inspired restaurants and ultra lounges, Big Night Entertainment Group has really helped not only put Boston on the dining and entertainment map, but take the city to an unprecedented level.
Right now, the Boston-based restaurant and nightclub group is prepping to open Memoire and Mystique at Encore Boston Harbor over the next few weeks along with their biggest venue ever – Big Night Live opening near the TD Garden this fall.
We caught up recently with BNEG’s co-founder Randy Greenstein to give us the inside scoop on their latest ventures at Encore Boston, hear his thoughts on Boston’s skyrocketing luxury market and find out which celebration they hosted was the greatest of all time.
You guys have come a long way since the days of Water Works. What was your original intent when you created Big Night Entertainment back in 2007?
It’s funny, but I used to be a DJ at Water Works. That’s how the relationship with Joe and Ed (Kane) came to fruition. In 2007, we got an opportunity to do Shrine in Foxwoods and we just did that one, which has turned into this epic growth now. We originally created Big Night Entertainment for liquor sponsored parties. Stoli Blueberry was trying to get their name out with the Boston market. No one at the time knew how to throw a party; that’s what we do on a nightly basis. For the first six months, we created a Little Black Dress party at Avalon. About 1,000 people went and we made $20,000 over six months. That didn’t work out needless to say, but we all had other things going on at the time. The Kanes still had Tosca and some other restaurants on the South Shore and I had a marketing company.
Then we got a call from the president of Foxwoods. Where Shrine is now, there was supposed to be a Tao. He told us they had 21,000 square feet of space and needed an Asian restaurant to take over. We hit it off with the president and signed a lease within a month. We would later do a grand opening party with the Kardashians and in six months, we invented Shrine. We built it, developed it and lived it. It was a wild time, but it was something we all really wanted to do. Then we invented Scorpion Bar in 2009 a year later and are celebrating its 10-year anniversary this week, which is crazy. That did amazingly well then Ed was walking around the casino asking himself what Steve Wynn would do in Vegas and came up with the idea for a 35,000-square foot bowling alley. Our mission was to have the most beautiful bowling alley. That’s what we did in 2010. It was great, but we are all from Boston so we decided to focus on the Boston market. We opened three in one year in Boston then took a break.
After that, we decided there is no stopping us. We do restaurants, bars and nightclubs all in one portfolio. We wanted to find a way to do vibrant dining. The city of Boston needed that – somewhere where people could eat, drink and stay. All of the nightclubs in Boston were just paint and paper. We had the opportunity to do a new nightclub from scratch with The Grand. That was a game changer. We are bringing in the best talent four night’s a week. Being home base is exciting for us to change the level of entertainment that has never happened before in Boston.
Photo Credit: Empire Restaurant & Lounge
Were you originally looking to bring a little Vegas to Boston?
That was always our mission. Las Vegas is the mecca of hospitality and nightlife. We wanted to bring some Vegas fun to Boston and our mission is to provide that. We take a lot of inspiration from Vegas, so to be able to bring that to downtown Boston is fun.
What are you thoughts on Boston’s luxury market?
When we won “Best Dance Club of the Year” by Nightclub Bar & Media Group, that changed our perspective of things. Boston can be on the map. It’s not just New York, Miami and Vegas. Boston is in the top 10 market in the country, so we made a large bet that the luxury market existed when we started. We budgeted a number that was half of what we were actually doing. What we didn’t predict was the VIP service and older market (over 25) that come to celebrate birthdays, work experiences, etc. We have 30 VIP pods in The Grand, which is more than half for a luxury experience. The luxury market absolutely exists in Boston and right now, you can feel it more than ever. We have never been so excited to be in Boston than now.Â
Photo Credit: Red Lantern
Tell us a little about Big Night Live, the luxury concert venue you’ll be opening near TD Garden this fall.
We partnered with Don Law and Live Nation and will be opening a music hall and live space for parties. There will also be a high end luxury buffet available when we open in the fall. It will be the biggest and best space we have ever done. We will be doing 24 stadium style VIP boxes. It’s sort of The Grand meets House of Blues mixed with VIP tables that don’t exist in a live music area. You can sit, stand and hang out without feeling like you are packed into a club. It’s going to be a mixture of a club show with a nightlife vibe.
From Paris Hilton and Rick Ross to Jennifer Lopez and Kid Rock, you guys have partied with some of the most famous faces in sports and entertainment. What is one of your most memorable events?
We are excited because we are friends with the Bruins guys. When they won the Stanley Cup in 2011, they brought the cup to Shrine. That was the most fun we ever had. There were 30 guys on the team, including Marchand and Chara, who are still on the team, who came down on a bus – no wives, no girlfriends – just a group of guys. We had a sectioned off space for 50 to 100 people. They were all drinking Ace of Spades champagne out of the Cup. They were in the middle of the club partying like they were in the locker room. It was one of the most amazing celebrations. We are hoping if they win the Cup again this year, they will choose to party with us again.
Photo Credit: Shrine Foxwoods
