Quantcast

The DNAinfo archives brought to you by WNYC.
Read the press release here.

Nightclub Brings European Party Vibe to MacDougal Street

By Danielle Tcholakian | September 30, 2014 10:53am

GREENWICH VILLAGE — Greenwich Village's newest nighttime hotspot is hoping to bring a European mega-club experience to a single room on MacDougal Street.

Mach 8 opened Sept. 18 at 179 MacDougal St., in the space formerly occupied by the clubs Love and Pink Elephant. The launch event was crowded with music producers, international DJs, socialites and people involved in the fashion industry, according to Fabien Beretta, the club's director of operations.

"We should have gotten a bigger space," Beretta joked.

But the club's smaller size is part of the idea behind Mach 8, which "packs all the elements of a mega club," including smoke machines, into one underground room accessed through an unmarked door just off of Eighth Street, Beretta said.

"The room is a perfect size," Beretta said of the 4,000-square-foot space. "It’s not too big [and] it’s not too small, which enables you to be busy and be capable of getting a nice crowd in without compromising your product."

Guests make their way down a faux graffiti- and poster-covered staircase to a cocktail bar, before moving onto the main dance floor, with three-dimensional projection screens centered around a DJ booth featuring state-of-the-art sound equipment. Banquettes encircling the DJ booth offer a rest for club-goers between "deep house" cuts spun by guest DJs including Germany's Timo Maas and Brazil's Joyce Muniz.

"The idea was to recreate that Ibiza feel, but in a more intimate venue that caters to a higher clientele [than other New York clubs]," Beretta said.

Mach 8 is only open Thursday through Saturday, from 11 p.m. until 4 a.m. Beretta said there is a cover charge of $20, typically, but it's "based on the doorman's discretion."

"It depends on who you come with," Beretta said. "If it’s a mixed group, it’s less likely you’re going to get charged. You want the right formula in a nightclub, you want the right amount of men and the right amount of women.

"The guys end up paying most of the time," he added.

Unlike the larger clubs in New York City that play electronic dance music, or EDM, Mach 8 is devoted exclusively to deep house, which is played in party spots like Cannes and St. Tropez, Beretta said.

"EDM caters to a younger crowd," he said. "We want to cater to an older crowd, a little more sophisticated."