What does the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing have in common with a new lounge in Fells Point called the Get Down? Both relied on Baltimore lighting designer Scott Chmielewski for illumination.
Bryan Burkert opened
the Get Down at 701 S. Bond St. this month in the spot that once held Fletcher's. Burkert, who also owns Fells Point music shop the Sound Garden, gutted out the former space to open the 6,000-square-foot nightclub.
The LED lighting is a key component of the Get Down's design, Burkert says. "Everything glows and illuminates everything all of the time," he says. "I wanted a funky, cool place."
Burkert will rely on DJs from Washington, D.C., to play funk and soul music. But the biggest challenge will be to reach the right audience for the club. "Our fear is that we'd be pegged as the hottest new club which is not what we are trying to be," he says.
Wait, he
doesn't want to be called the hottest new club?
His fear is that with a moniker like that, party-goers will assume that the Get Down plays all pop or all hip hop, as is the case at other nightclubs. Burkert wants to reach a more diverse, wider spectrum of the city.
Burkert sold Fletcher's two years ago, then bought it back. But he didn't feel like opening it as Fletcher's. So he remade the space into a venue where he can hold parties, feature live music or DJs.
The business owner says he likes the area for its mix of
eclectic, independent restaurants and retail shops.
The club is open seven nights a week, from 7 p.m. until 2 a.m.
Source: Bryan Burkert, the Get Down
Writer: Julekha Dash