Seattle has no shortage of great nightclubs, but you shouldn’t be blamed for thinking the nightlife scene could use a little shaking up. Vue Luxury Lounge, Chuck Wang’s newest nightlife destination concept, wants to shake things up, and transcend being “just a nightclub.” Vue is being constructed and billed as a lux lounge, social club, art space, and music venue. Walking inside the complex, it’s immediately apparent that Vue is different from anything else Seattle nightlife has to offer.
The first night we visited the Belltown venue, kitty-corner from Buckley’s and Tavolata, for our private press tour, it was immediately apparent Vue doesn’t feel like a club. There are bar-top tables, couches, and art installations everywhere. The building’s interior, originally warehouse-style offices purchased by Chuck to turn into apartments, has been left largely untouched. Giant wood beams criss-cross the ceiling. Large sections of brick and ducting remain exposed. Top-of-the-line technology is everywhere you look. Vue feels more like an exclusive Chicago warehouse party than the clinically-nitpicked, commercial design of many nightclubs.
“I want Vue to be the spot for everything. I emphasize the term ‘multi-concept’ because Vue can be used as a space for celebrating anything and everything, or merely for social networking over some bites and beverages.” – Chuck Wang
We spent hours behind the scenes at Vue, touring the venue with Chuck, meeting the staff, and digging into the history of the building. What has emerged is a vision of the future of Seattle nightlife, driven by Chuck (of Volume and Stage fame) and other key players in the Northwest event production arena. Many venues promise to bring a “Vegas-like” experience to their city, but often only bring one or two dimensions of Las Vegas to bear.
Vue aims to be the first venue to transport the entire Vegas experience to the Pacific Northwest, all inside one building, in a format traditionally-reserved Seattleites will actually feel comfortable with. The scale of the vision is giant, bordering on audacious, but after spending a good deal of time there, it’s becoming clear Chuck and his seasoned crew might actually pull the whole thing off.
The first entrance to Vue pours you into the Hypebeast room, fully embodying the “lounge” aspect of the venue. Standing tables adorned with designer logos are aligned along the floor plan, while full-scale, floor-to-ceiling pop-art from local Seattle artist Charms Won adorns the entrance wall. It’s a room meant to draw you in the second you enter. Coupled with plush couches, a stylish crystal clear DJ booth, and a one-of-a-kind LED drink fridge behind the bar, it’s hard not to be impressed.
Vue’s second entrance leads you into Liquor Room, sponsored by six separate liquor companies, each featuring their own specialty cocktail. The Taipei city skyline is splashed across the entirety of the back wall, again by Charms Won, with projected lights from across the room filling everything the paint doesn’t cover. When it comes to the sheer scale of art featured in every room, “this space felt like a Brooklyn art gallery, so we really treated it that way,” says Chuck.
“The city skyline is of Taipei 101 which is where I’m from…at night, we will have the projector on to bring Taipei to life inside of Vue.”
Enter any room in the venue, and you’ll see a complete realization of the “multi-concept lounge” vision. From the Hype Beast Room and its focus on “up-and-coming fashion releases by popular street [and] luxury brands,” to the Liquor Room, “designed to bring a ‘night in the city’-like ambience…deeply inspired by Taipei,” there’s no shortage of atmosphere, no matter where you go.
Walk straight through either the Hypebeast or Liquor Room, and you’re plunged into the audio-visual masterwork that is Vue’s Main Room. Chuck is very careful to make us aware it’s not just your run-of-the-mill nightclub, but the venue’s Main Room still has all the bells and whistles of a high-end club. So, where to start?
How about with the highest-resolution LED screen in the city, adorning the towering DJ booth that overlooks the room, flanked by twin spiral staircases on either side? Or the genuine marble floors, which required special installation and exorbitant amounts of a special polish fit for dancing?
For audiophiles, how about the Tectonic Audio Labs speakers – thin, surface-style mains with all the punch of a full speaker stack, but at a fraction of the size and with significantly better acoustics. Turn away from the stage toward the ceiling, and you’ll see rows of hundreds of light bulb arms, each individually controlled and actuated, with the ability to create a cascading, luminous wave of lights from above, originally pioneered in Drake’s tour setup.
If selfies at the club are more your speed, Vue has you handled there too, featuring a massive Rose Wall across the entire back end of the Main Room, adorned by Sandra O’Malley of KAN Orchids Flowers, and originally conceived by Chuck and one of the venue’s creative directors, Tyler.
Overlooking the entirety of the main bar is a $5000 VIP booth, reserved for anyone brave enough to fork out some extra green for a more private club experience. “It comes with a personal cocktail host, private security, access to the members only card room, private garage parking, personal chef, and a permanent engraved plaque with your name on it,” (literally), Chuck outlines.
“We call it the ‘G6.’ It’s private, above the rest, the pinnacle of luxury, and you probably have a G6 if you’re in the G6!”
You might be excused for thinking that’s it, but even after all this opulence upstairs you haven’t even gotten to the best part. The venue’s crown jewel can be found down the staircase hidden behind the main bar, descending into a member’s only room, highlighted by an official Vue blackjack table, a bespoke kitchen serving dishes made of “home-grown ingredients and fresh local produce,” and a vintage wine bar.
For luxury, VIP, and celebrity guests, Vue features a private entrance and parking area, with a direct door into the member’s only room. With green room access; local food at the ready; custom-made blackjack table with personal in-house dealer; and a table-side cocktail waitress, Vue’s member’s only room is definitely high class…though how Chuck got the city to approve a table, we may never know.
The kitchen, which will serve happy hours and special events, is run by a small dedicated crew. The eats are original and use a combination of local ingredients and fusion elements from around the world. “We all [the kitchen staff] worked places that wouldn’t let us explore our creativity. Vue allows us to really see what’s possible.”
While a soft open date has yet to be determined, we’re excited for Vue to open its doors to the public. More than anything, Chuck’s vision for the future is ambitious, bringing a whole new kind of venue into play in the Pacific Northwest.
Whether you’re in it for a high-end night out with your friends, partying with a headlining artist, reserving the space for a wedding (no really, the Main Room already has one booked out), or simply a quick happy hour after work, there will be no shortage of uses for this versatile, absolutely incredible venue. You can keep up to date on Vue’s premiere schedule by liking their Facebook page and following their Instagram.
“If you think you know enough about Vue after reading or hearing about it, you don’t,” Chuck says, totally focused. “You have to come see it in person.” When you do, we promise you won’t be disappointed.
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