Super club
How a series of great parties revolutionised the world of restaurants
BY CELESTE NEILL-DUVOISIN
Next time you’re in Amsterdam and fancy a nice, normal kind of restaurant where you can dine in a nice, normal kind of way, then make sure you don’t go to the supperclub (www.supperclub.com). Dining here is an experience that’s anything but standard.
Opened 15 years ago, supperclub pioneered a new concept in the restaurant experience thanks to its groundbreaking use of huge white beds. To this day, customers recline on the beds while feasting on cutting edge cuisine in their bare feet. At the same time, they enjoy an eclectic, often dazzling, array of live theatre, music performances, art installations and hip DJs. On a single evening here you might see an operatic duet, a striptease and a trapeze performance!
This concept of amazing dining experience-meets-upscale nightclub-meets-spectacular performance art has gone on to be much copied around the world, but the supperclub remains a perennial favourite. And it is so much more than “just” a restaurant, with its own hugely successful compilation CD series, a vodka range, magazine, energy drink and weekly canal boat cruises. There are supperclubs in Singapore, San Francisco and Istanbul, and even a special “portable” supperclub which tours the world.
But right from the start, the business has been fuelled more by creativity than strategy, starting as a series of legendary wild parties held by a group of rather boho artists and creative souls in Amsterdam. They organised great events, but had little interest in running a business, eventually going bankrupt in 1999. That’s when the Amsterdam-based restaurant group IQ Creative BV, owned by local entrepreneur Bert van der Leden, stepped in. The group specialises in developing unique restaurant concepts and was already running successful venues in Amsterdam, including Nevy and Nomads.
“When we bought the supperclub the image was really good, but it was making no money,” explains Cleo Vehmeyer, director of IQ Creative BV. “It was a very tough job. In six months it had to be revamped and relaunched, and the organisation behind it was difficult. But the staff were enthusiastic and got really motivated – not only by the concept but the fact that they would finally be paid a salary on time!”
After a hugely successful relaunch, the restaurant attracted worldwide publicity. “Simultaneously, we started a music compilation series [to date, more than 900,000 CDs have been sold], as well as running some supperclub events abroad. Suddenly we realised that we were a brand,” says Cleo.
The company decided to expand into new territory and opened a supperclub in Rome in 2003, but this closed in 2008. “It was our first experience abroad and we were a bit naïve,” says Cleo with a knowing laugh. “We didn’t realise how difficult it would be. Our local partners didn’t want us to direct them. But they failed to understand that supperclub is not a concept you can put on paper – it’s a feeling and it’s not possible to just copy it. The big mistake they made was just to focus on a local hip scene: the supperclub in Amsterdam has always had 70% tourists as its client base. Traditionally, the hip crowd always move on to somewhere else after a venue’s first year – it’s during the second and third years that you really find out if the business is a success or not.”
Cleo emphasises that the main lesson learned from Rome was to always make a continual effort with PR: “You shouldn’t focus just on that hip crowd, but try to appeal to everyone – to all kinds of people who are looking for a fun evening. We paid a lot of attention to our mistakes in Rome and realised it was important to use the relationships we had with places like tourist boards and with hotel concierges, taxi drivers and event companies. Cultivating these relationships makes a big difference. Our experience of what went wrong in Rome will stand us in good stead each time we set up a new business.”
The supperclub’s worldwide promotion and continual creative development in new territories has indeed been the key to its success. The numerous on-location events around the world brings the supperclub experience alive to new markets while allowing the company to retain creative control. Each time the group hosts an event it brings its own chefs, artists, décor and that special supperclub touch.
The company is now focusing on how best to control this recent rapid growth and looking to future development. “Recently, we’ve grown from 140 to 180 staff in Holland and we’re at a point where we have to change the organisation to manage everything. It’s so important to always make sure you’re ready for the future – that’s the real challenge for us right now,” says Cleo.
So next time you’re in Amsterdam and see a striking copper door with the number 21 on it in the narrow, somewhat obscure Jonge Roelensteeg, you’ll know that what lies beyond is something very different. In short, if you want an experience, then supperclub is the place to be.
IN THE CLUBS
Cleo’s top five places to party in Amsterdam (beside the supperclub, of course!):
Sugar Factory (238 Lijnbaansgracht, www.sugarfactory.nl) “Local people love coming here on Sundays.”
Paradiso (6-8 Weteringschans, www.paradiso.nl) “It’s got a very good programme of bands.”
Bitter Zoet (2 Spuistraat, www.bitterzoet. com) “Still a bit underground.”
Melkweg (234a Lijnbaansgracht, www.melkweg.nl) “Always a good place to discover new musical talent.”
Alto-Jazz Café (115 Korte Leidsedwarsstraat, www.jazz-cafe-alto.nl) “The best jazz in town.”
NL Lounge (169 Nieuwezijds Voorburgwal, www.clubnl.nl) “Only a few clubs in Amsterdam have a good ambience every day, and NL is one of them.”
