Jan. 11, 2008 — Hundreds of residents are expected to flock to Al Cohen's Mall on St. Thomas Friday evening for the grand opening of the Reggae Lounge, a multifaceted after-hours club that mixes some of the flair of the New York City music scene with the territory's vibrant reggae culture.
Located next to Pizza Amore, the 2,600-square foot space is decorated in subtle red, green and gold, and is replete with dining, lounge and gaming areas. Walking in the front doors, visitors also stumble upon the lounge art gallery — three walls covered from top to bottom with cultural scenes and portraits — and can head straight into the gift shop, which carries trademarked Reggae Lounge paraphernalia.
"The point of all of this is so that people can always find something different to do when they come here," Lounge manager Nestah Amonrah Kobadi said during an interview Thursday. "Every weekend there will be something different, with people cooling, grooving and doing their own thing."
Friday promises to be the first of many Lounge bashes, spotlighting the South Asian and hip-hop infused beats of the infamous DJ Rekha, known around the world for her monthly "basement bhangra" dance parties at Big Apple hotspot Sounds of Brazil (SOB's). The cross-pollination of cultures exhibited in Rekha's work highlights the deeper meaning behind the creation of the Lounge, Kobadi said.
"It's all about universal love," he explained. "Reggae, as a genre, is enjoyed worldwide, and we're going to mix that up with some world beats — Brazilian, East Asian, African drumbeats. It's going to be a great cultural thing, and I think people who are open-minded will enjoy it."
A dream nurtured for the past four years, the Reggae Lounge was inspired by Kobadi's own experiences in New York hanging out in the clubs and other nightspots across the city.
"When I came back to the territory in 2004, I got involved with a business on St. John for the first six months," he explained. "Tourists would often come up and ask me where they could go and hear some reggae. Then one day, a guy told me that he could get a better Caribbean experience hanging out in West Palm Beach than he could down here. So I traveled the Caribbean, saw some of the things that were out there, and came up with the idea for the Reggae Lounge. It's like a Hard Rock Café or Planet Hollywood, but with Caribbean music."
Joining together with business partners Allen Chen, Gary Chow and Deepchand Gidwani, Kobadi put his plans into action, and worked on developing a safe, fun space that he says can carve out its own niche within the community.
"Many times when you go out, you see people of a certain culture hanging out at one place, people of a certain culture hanging out at another place … we had to do something to mix it up, and bring everyone together," he said. "That's how we came up with mixing the reggae with the world beat — it will be a unifying force, and a really unique experience for anyone who walks through our doors."
Grand opening ceremonies kick off Friday evening at 6:00 p.m. with a V.I.P. reception, followed by dancing — which is open to the public — from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m.
The lounge, Kobadi said, will be open daily from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m.
for more information call 690-2111 or 277-2829.
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